Race for the Cure
by TMI
Summary: Percabeth and slight Tratie. Eros, aka Cupid, visits the camp and shoots Annabeth with the arrow of indifference, causing her to fall out of love with Percy. He's heartbroken, and goes to find the cure, which is guarded by ten monsters he will have to defeat first to get it. And then what's up with Zeus himself trying to stop him? But the real catch is, he only has ten days.
1. How it happened

**WOW THIS IS REALLY BAD AT THE BEGINNING. Which makes sense, considering I was in sixth grade when I started this. Let's do some editing, shall we? Edited AGAIN as of 7/23/10 and 10/18/12**

**Hi again! It's me, TMI! Anyway, this is my first Percy Jackson fic, so I hope it's good. I'm kind of used to writing Maximum Ride fanfictions, so I don't know if this will be... I hope it is! =D Written after The Last Olympian, but Beckendorf and Silena are alive still, and Silena is good. (: Here we go!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or Crest Whitening Stripsz! Apparently, Eros has some of the latter though…**

Life for a demigod like me was pretty good right now. By that I mean Kronos was lying low, the camp was peaceful, and best of all, Annabeth and I were officially a couple.

And neither of us were wounded, sick, missing, or in mortal danger! That was a definite plus.

Then one day, the gods must have decided that we were getting boring in our luxurious safety and peace. I was playing volleyball when it happened, demigods versus tree nymphs. The nymphs were winning so far, so I was concentrating on the game. After all, who wants to admit to being beaten by a tree? That's right, not the son of Poseidon who's supposed to be all-powerful and scary and stuff. I had a reputation to uphold.

I guess that's why I didn't hear the first screams.

All of the girls from the Athena and Aphrodite cabins came running towards us, shrieking at ear-piercing volumes. In the back of my head, I noted the difference between their screams. While the Aphrodite girls were shrieking with joy, the Athena campers screamed in terror.

Loping easily along a little behind them came a tall young guy, carrying a golden bow and with two quivers of arrows slung over his back. The dude was movie star material, cliché blond curls and aquamarine eyes in all. He even seemed to have an aura of something… almost godly hanging around him as he moved forward, grinning widely. The air seemed to glow and shimmer around him, sunlight bending to hit him in the most flattering angles possible so that his skin glowed and every good point was meticulously highlighted.

That's when it hit me. Two quivers of different arrows. Incredibly good looks. Crest Whitening Strip teeth. The Aphrodite girls' apparent lack of fear for him even as the Athena girls screamed their lungs out in terror. It was Eros, the son of Aphrodite…

A god better known as Cupid.

**Annabeth's POV**

My half-sisters and I were all seated around one of the many oak tables in our cabin, having a great time discussing the differences between modern and ancient architecture- and the next capture the flag match. I was arguing with Kathleen about the fine details of our decided hiding spot for the flag, both of us furiously trying to find a way to protect it from that one elusive angle that simply refused to be shielded against. If the Apollo archers could get just one man up a specific tree, then we were doomed.

"We could just rig the tree with booby traps, and problem solved!" exclaimed Kathleen, pounding her fist decisively on the table top.

"No, because Ares' side has Apollo _and _Hermes this year, and we know how effective those cabins are at sniffing out traps," I retorted. "We'll have to layer shields from that angle-"

"That would take forever," Kathleen groaned. "The game would be over by the time you were satisfied the flag was fully protected, Annabeth."

I opened my mouth to protest, but was interrupted before I could get a word out by a knock on the door.

We all grew quiet in unison. _No one_ at camp just knocks on the door before entering. We all stared at each other, trying to communicate with our eyes on what to do next. Carefully, I snuck over to the door, dagger in hand. Maybe I could surprise the knocker-

_BOOM!_

The door flew open, knocking me painfully into the wall. A tall guy with blond ringlets and clear blue eyes was standing there, holding a polished red bow. Oddly enough, he had two separate quivers slung across his back. One was filled with arrows tipped with red feathers and pink arrowheads. The other arrows were tipped with black feathers and flint arrowheads.

_Why was that so ominously familiar?_

"Hello ladies," the guy said pleasantly at us, standing there frozen like startled deer. "I'm Eros. Which one of you is Annabeth?"

I can't exactly say what happened next, because I was too blinded with fear to comprehend the current events. All I knew was that every girl in the cabin screamed in a strangled, piercing harmony and sprinted to the windows, jerking them open and hauling themselves outside. I quickly followed suit, dropping my dagger in my haste to get away from yet another god who wanted to mess with my head. We sprinted in a pack, heading for the campers. After all, there was safety in numbers.

Soon, I saw Percy, Clarisse, Beckendorf, Silena, and the Stoll brothers playing volleyball against some tree nymphs. In spite of being chased by the god armed with the arrows with the power to make or break a relationship, my heart flipped a little when I saw Percy standing in the volleyball pit, with his black hair flopping over his focusedgreen eyes…

When he heard my siblings' shrieks, Percy turned around and saw us running towards him and the rest of the volleyball players. I saw the confusion on his face, before his eyes shifted over our heads to the god chasing us. A sort of horrified recognition slowly dawned on him as he realized exactly who our visitor was.

By this time I had realized through my mindless fear that the Aphrodite cabin had joined our ranks. However, instead of fleeing from the god, they were running to tell everyone that their half-brother was here. How lucky for them. Their half-brother hadn't barged into their cabin looking for _them_.

Then again, they would probably be overjoyed if he did. Go figure.

We were almost free, almost surrounded by the flood of armed campers who had poured into the clearing at the sound of our screams. I stretched to run faster, but I was at the back of the group since I had fled the cabin last. Survival instincts were kicking in, and adrenaline poured through me like fire.

That's when I felt something sharp and heavy hit me in the center of my back, and I cried out, stumbling and falling to the ground.

And everything went black.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**PPOV**

When I saw Annabeth being chased by the god who wielded the arrows of love and _indifference_, my heart almost stopped.

Faster Annabeth, I thought. Faster!

That's when Eros grinned wickedly and pulled a black feathered arrow from one quiver. Smoothly, with one fluid motion, the archer placed the arrow in the notch and fired it from his bow while still running. I watched in frozen horror as the arrow thunked directly into the center of Annabeth's back, going all the way through her torso. She stumbled and fell, a strangled noise forcing past her lips before she fell silent, eyes shut. Eros nodded slightly to himself, smirking in satisfaction at the look on my face, and disappeared in a puff of rosy smoke.

The world seemed to spin inward for a moment, but I still found myself running towards her as fast as I could. The wicked looking arrow piercing her abdomen shimmered and evaporated into a grey mist, settling on Annabeth's shoulders and sinking into her skin. I sprinted even faster as I got closer, falling to the ground and kneeling at her side. "Annabeth?" I whispered, touching her shoulder tentatively. She stirred and opened her gray eyes, blinking at me in confusion.

"Percy?"

I thought I might keel over with joy. Annabeth was okay! Immediately, I tried to help lift her off the ground, but she looked alarmed and scooted away. "Percy, what are you doing?" Annabeth asked nervously, watching me with clear suspicion on her face.

"Trying to help you up," I replied, and leaned over again to pick her up. She had just been shot in the back, after all. We needed to get he to the infirma-

"Why?" Annabeth persisted. She moved away again, evading my help.

"Because you need help?" I continued, raising an eyebrow at her. Once more, I tried to help Annabeth to her feet. She seemed fine, and apparently the arrow had dissolved without harm. What was wrong?

"I don't need your help, Percy," Annabeth retorted, narrowing her eyes at me. "Stop now." She smacked away my hand as I tried to reach out to her again.

"Annabeth, you're-"

"STOP IT PERCY!" With a fair amount of struggle Annabeth finally managed to pick herself up, and with an angry look at me, trotted unsteadily away. I just stared after her, feeling my heart sink as I watched her leave.

The arrow had worked. The arrow of indifference. Annabeth didn't love me anymore.

"Sorry, Percy," Beckendorf said quietly, coming up behind me placing a hand on my shoulder. I just stared after Annabeth's retreating form, feeling like my heart had just been dropped off the Arch without the help of a river underneath to cushion impact.

In other words: completely and utterly destroyed_._

**This is still awful. Wow. Whatevs, better than it was before. (:**

**Review? (: **

**~TMI~**


	2. Poor Percy Stupid Eros

**Hi again! I am sorry for not updating, but I've been busy lately. My soccer coach threatened our team with the promise of six packs by the end of the season. Gulp.**

**Gazzy: Oh suck it up. I got a six pack from flying all my life!**

**And I'm going to get one by dying at the hands of my coach! Anyway, enough complaining, on with the story!**

**Percy's POV**

When I saw Annabeth being chased by the god who wielded the arrows of love and _indifference_, my heart almost stopped.

Faster Annabeth, I thought. Faster!

That's when Eros grinned wickedly and pulled a black feathered arrow from one quiver. Smoothly, with one fluid motion, he placed the arrow in the notch and fired it from his bow. The arrow thunked into the center of Annabeth's back, going all the way through her torso. She stumbled and fell. I thought I might faint, but I ran towards her as fast as I could. The arrow shimmered and evaporated into a grey mist, settling on Annabeth's shoulders and seemingly sinking into her skin. I sprinted even faster over and knelt at her side. "Annabeth?" I whispered. She stirred and opened her gray eyes, blinking at me.

"Percy?"

I thought I might keel over with joy. Annabeth was okay! I tried to lift her off the ground, but she looked alarmed and scooted away. "Percy, what are you doing?" she asked nervously.

"Trying to help you up." I leaned over again to pick her up.

"Why?" She moved away again.

"Because you need help." Once more, I tried to help Annabeth to her feet.

"No I don't. Stop now."

"Annabeth, you're-"

"STOP IT PERCY!" Annabeth picked herself up with a frightened look and trotted unsteadily away. I just stared after her, feeling my heart sink.

"Sorry, Percy," Beckendorf said quietly, placing a hand on my shoulder. I just stared after Annabeth's retreating form, then broke down and sobbed.

"ANNABETH!" I cried. "NO!"

Percy's POV

I was like a pricked balloon the next day. Whenever I tried to talk to Annabeth, she scurried away from me hurriedly. I moped. At lunch, I heard Athena's daughters whispering to Annabeth. I picked at my meal, pasta and French fries, and ate little. I left the dining pavilion as soon as possible, and headed to the Pegasus stables to talk to Blackjack. He always cheered me up. I just couldn't wait until dinner. Oh joy, another time for Annabeth to ignore me.

Annabeth's POV

I don't know why everyone, especially Percy, is acting so weirdly. Percy kept insisting we had to talk, but I just walked away from him. I didn't want to deal with him, because he was acting so creepy. My half-sisters were acting oddly too. Whenever I walked away from Percy when he tried to talk to me, they stared and started whispering among themselves.

At dinner, I overheard them talking again.

"Poor Percy."

"Stupid Eros had to mess with the poor guy."

"Look at him, he's so depressed."

Out of curiosity, I glanced over at Percy. As always, he was the only one seated at Poseidon's table. Ususally, he filled the table by himself, laughing and calling out to his friends at other tables as he ate. Today though, he sat there huddled, staring listlessly at his food.

I felt sorry for him, but I didn't understand why he was so depressed. He glanced up at me and perked up slightly when he saw I was looking at him. I quickly glanced away. I didn't want to give him any ideas. I could almost feel it as he drooped back over his table.

"Oh no, he's starting to break down."

"Oh Percy, please don't cry-"

"The tears are coming-"

I snuck a peek at him through my hair. He was staring hard at his food, shoulders heaving, and tears dripping off his nose. Grover quickly trotted over and escorted the mega powerful, god defeating son of Poseidon, weeping, from the pavilion.

I felt a twinge of guilt for causing him so much pain, and resumed eating the delicious fried chicken on my plate.

**Okay then! There's that chapter, and if you look in the far right corner, the next chapter should be up momentarily! I just need to type it! =D Anyway, review please if you liked it! And if you want to flame me for making such pitifully short chapters, go ahead. I'm mad at myself too.**

**~TMI~**


	3. Aphrodite makes a useful appearance!

**Hi again! I'm not going to talk. Here's the chapter!**

**Percy's POV**

I had to be led away from the dining hall by Grover. Once I convinced him I was okay, he went back to his dinner, glancing back at me every few steps.

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and headed out to the stables. Blackjack and the other pegasi were not alone. Aphrodite, the goddess of love herself, was feeding the black pegasus sugar out of the palm of her hand. As always, the goddess was stunningly beautiful, but today I felt numb to her magic, and looked at her dully. "Percy," she began in a musical voice. I made no response. "Percy, I give you my full apologies. My naughty son Eros was feeling mischievous, and decided to have some fun-"

"_FUN?_," I yelled. "HIS 'FUN' MADE ANNABETH HATE ME!" I wasn't sad anymore, I was angry.

"Now, Percy, be reasonable-"

"_REASONABLE?_ YOUR SON RUINED MY RELATIONSHIP AND YOU'RE TELLING _ME_ TO BE REASONABLE?"

"Perseus Jackson. I have apologized. Me, a great goddess, to you, a sniveling demigod. Accept, or die."

"Fine," I muttered, still not happy. "I accept your apology. How can I get the real Annabeth back?

"Ah, yes. All you have to do is get water from the fountain of the Isle of Corinthos, mix it with lemonade powder-"

"Lemonade powder?" I asked her. What kind of magic cure needed mortal drink mix?

"Makes it taste delightful," Aphrodite explained. "Oh yes, drink the mixture, and kiss the girl!"

"And how exactly am I supposed to get near her? Annabeth runs when she sees me!" "Sneak attack. Doesn't she have an invisibility hat? Get someone sympathetic to your cause to take it and give it to you.

"Now, the current problem is how to get to the fountain and back in nine days. Hmm… Problem solving isn't my strong suit…" The goddess tapped her perfectly manicured nails against her flawless cheek in thought.

"Wait a sec, hold your horses," I paused to laugh inwardly at my stupid joke. Son of Poseidon, hold your horses. Laugh laugh. Back to reality. I made a face at Aphrodite. "What do you mean 'in nine days'?"

"Don't make faces dear, it'll give you wrinkles. The effects of the arrow become permanent in ten days, and since she was shot yesterday, that gives you nine days." The goddess clapped her hands. "Goodie, aren't I a mathematical genius!"

I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic.

"Where is Corinthos, exactly?" I asked feebly. I had a bad feeling it was-

"In Greece, of course. It's the only place that doesn't move with the Heart of the West." Aphrodite picked at her fingernails, removing nonexistent dirt from beneath her long nails. "Since you can't fly in an airplane, I guess you'll have to… No, that wouldn't work, you'd spontaneously combust. Transportation ideas are now in your hands! Good luck then, Percy!" And with that, she evaporated into a fine silvery pink mist.

I stood alone in a stable full of supernatural horses. Blackjack broke the silence, speaking mind to mind with me.

_Hey boss, can I go to Greece with you? Man, I haven't been on a holiday in years! _Blackjack whinnied, tossing his mane.

"Maybe I'll take you somewhere when I get back," I told him. "You can't come because you wouldn't be able to fly that far and back in nine days."

_True. Oh well, bring me some Grecian sugar then._ Blackjack went back to his oats.

I left the stable and headed to the shore. It looked like I would need some help from my dad.

**Alrighty then, there's the new chapter! I know it's short. I am truly sorry. I will try to post more than one chapter at a time, when I post. Review please, cause I love reading your comments! **

**Gazzy: So do I!**

**Angel: And I!**

**Total: I like hearing TMI read them. It makes her happy.**

**~TMI~**


	4. LUAU ON THE ISLE BABY!

**Ok, before anything, I must apologize for the wait. Many of my reviewers have agreed that these chapters are far too short, so I will try to fix that. Keep in mind, I wrote this so long ago I didn't even know what Fanfiction was, or the proper amount of story per chapter. Therefore, I wrote insanely tiny portions and called them chapters. One "chapter" was two paragraphs! I appreciate your bearing with me as I attempt to fix this problem. Also, I recently acquired my own laptop! Yay! So I can type a ton more, and update sooner, hopefully. Thanks for all your patience!**

**Annabeth's POV**

I was eating my breakfast in peace, early in the morning, when Grover burst into the dining pavilion, his goat legs carrying him as fast as they could. "Percy's gone!" he gasped out. Murmurs rose from the tables as everyone stared at Grover. He waved a bit of paper around in the air. "This note was on his bed when I came to wake him." I watched, still spooning my froot loops into my mouth as we waited for him to read it. Before he could, however, one of the Stoll brothers snatched it and read aloud.

"To whom it may concern,

I'm going to Corinthos to get the cure for Annabeth. Aphrodite came and told me where to get it. I'll be back in eight days. At least, I hope so. I hope I make it back alive.

Percy."

Oh great, I thought. Percy is going off to Greece to find a _cure_ for me? I feel fine. I don't need to be cured.

"Poor Percy," someone whispered, breaking the silence. I resisted the urge to scream. Poor Percy, poor Percy, that's all they say. What about 'Poor Annabeth'? I have no idea what everyone's going on about! I savagely finished my froot loops and left the pavilion. No one noticed, of course. They were all too busy talking about Poor Percy. As always.

Percy's POV

I clutched the neck of the hippocampus, (horsefish, for any non-demigod-affiliated-people) Rainbow as we sped along the ocean current. My legs trailed along behind me, and I tried to keep them floating above Rainbow's tail. It was deadly, it whipped around so much. We headed southeast from Long Island, going in the direction of Greece. I didn't know the island's coordinates, so my nifty little power with that didn't help at all. I had a waterproof messenger bag strapped tightly to my back, and it contained all of my necessities for this little jaunt. Riptide, my ballpoint sword, was capped and stuck in an outer pocket for easy access. In the bigger inside one, there was a thermos of nectar and a baggie of ambrosia squares, a couple bags of chips I had hidden in my bunk, a tin cup for drinking the fountain water, a small bag of lemonade powder, a bottle of water and a change of clothes. It all fit snugly in the bag.

After swimming through the ocean for many, many long hours, (I had my water resistant watch on. Convenient, is it not?) Rainbow and I began to near the shore of a small island. I knew instinctively that this must be Corinthos. After all, these kinds of places seem to find you when you're on a quest. Rainbow neighed nervously at me, since hippocampi can't get to close to shore for fear of grounding themselves. I thanked Rainbow for the ride as I slid off his back and into the open, clear blue water. Treading water, I flipped him a Cheeto. He whinnied happily as he ate the chip, and with a final toss of his mane, swam off again. I sighed and started swimming, willing the current to pull me to the shore.

As soon as I left the salt water and stumbled onto the white sand beach, I felt my energy decrease drastically. My clothes were, as always, perfectly dry, so the sand didn't stick to me as my knees buckled and I face-planted onto the beach. After a minute of just lying there, I lifted my head out of the sand and spat out crystals of the white grit, turning to survey the landscape. Palm trees dotted the pure white dunes, and further inland I spotted more typical tropic fixtures.

"How picturesque," I muttered, brushing sand off my clothes and forcing my tired body into a sitting position. Staggering like a drunk who just performed thirty somersaults, I made my way to the top of a dune and looked over the rest of the relatively flat island. When I had talked to my dad about the travel help, he had told me about Corinthos. According to him, there was a real, original Corinthos, somewhere else in Greece. However, the Corinthos Aphrodite meant was a gods-created island that the local regular humans didn't know about. The gods had created it for times like this, so us heroes could sharpen up our questing skills while looking for the cure. Apparently, Eros pulled this particular trick on demigods quite often. Go figure.

My jaw dropped open when I saw the inland of Corinthos. Was it a boiling volcano in the middle surrounded by angry savage monsters that shocked me? Or a severe bad-guy invasion? No. The picturesque scenery hadn't disappeared. Well, this may sound odd, but hey, I'm not exactly normal.

The ferocious monsters, the ones that supposedly guarded the fountain? The ones that I'd have to defeat with my hero-ly prowess before retrieving the water? They were, well…

Having a luau.

Yep. Six assorted monstrous baddies, doing limbo in grass skirts, eating Hawaiian food and pizza, dancing in between the lit tiki torches. I've seen some pretty weird stuff, being a demigod and all, but never had I witnessed anything quite like this little gathering. I pulled Riptide out of my bag and put one hand on the cap, ready to pull it off and start fighting in case the monsters stopped partying and started snarling. I made my way carefully down the dune, slipping on the loose sands and grasses. They didn't seem to notice me until I was right in front of them, cautiously dusting off my legs.

"Hey! New guy! Want to limbo?" One shouted at me happily over the blaring music. He was crazily tangoing with another monster. I was more than slightly weirded out, but thankful they hadn't attacked yet. I probably wouldn't be able to hold off six powerful monsters at once.

"Uh, no thanks. I'm okay," I started, but then one that looked like an eagle hyena hybrid pushed me in front of the limbo stick. It looked like something used in a crazy ancient ritual, with it's intricate carvings of all kinds of exotic designs.

"Wal-Mart! Two bucks!" one of the monsters shouted happily when it saw me examining the stick. These people couldn't seem to speak under a shout.

"LIMBO! LIMBO! LIMBO!" The monsters yelled excitedly, stopping all of their luau activities to watch me. "Um, sure, I guess it couldn't hurt." I leaned backwards and walked under the stick easily. I'm pretty flexible when it comes to Limbo. The monsters cheered and applauded at my performance.

"Have a slice, kid," one offered, pointing to a pizza box on a food table. The top read _**Monster's Fine Dining, Pizza Branch **_in large block letters. I shook my head, since I wasn't hungry.

"Look here, you guys are being really nice and all, but all I want to do is get some water from the Fountain of Corinthos and get home quickly," I told the one who had offered me pizza. Suddenly, the tropical music screeched to a stop, and the monsters froze. They all turned their heads to face me. The pizza-offerer sighed regretfully. I stared at him.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," it admitted. "No one ever comes here to hang out anymore. All we get are upstart heroes whining, 'my true love hates me all because of Eros! Please let me take some water!' Not one person comes and tells us, 'hey, I have time to burn, let's crank up the music and LIMBO!'" The monster shook its head sadly.

"How, umm, sad," I tried to sympathize with it.

"You have no idea," it agreed. "So instead of chugging fruit punch and dancing your tail feathers off, we have to get all nasty and fight the poor sap." The monster shrugged at me, and massive fangs slid out of its gums. "I guess I'll fight you now, young hero."

"Uh, thanks. Is this one on one, or one on six?" There were six burly monsters, and as ridiculous as they were in the grass skirts, they looked pretty strong. I wouldn't be able to defeat all of them at once.

"One on one," the monster confirmed. I tried not to sigh in relief. "However, you have to defeat all of us eventually. I'm just going to fight you first," it clarified.

"Oh," I sighed. "How delightful. Well, I guess we better get started then!" I tried to be upbeat about this.

"Yes, we shall. Too bad, you were excellent at doing the limbo. Good bye, young hero." And with that, the monster lunged at me, snarling.

**Well then! That is all I have written at the moment, as I am not a fan of actually writing fight scenes. And now I have to write six. *Internal groan* Oh well. Maybe I'll find a way to condense them…**

**Anyway, review please, and tell me if this was any better than usual. I tried to make it longer this time!**

**Over and out,**

**~TMI~**


	5. One down, five to go

Percy's POV

_And with that, the monster lunged at me, snarling._

Oh crap. Instinctively, I ducked and rolled to the side, shooting up to my feet to uncap Riptide while the monster turned to face me. I hoped I didn't actually have to make him explode into dust, because he was a pretty nice monster.

'Cause that wasn't a weird sentence at all.

"Stand and fight, little hero!" he bellowed, charging me again. I feinted to the left, and the monster shot to the right. I moved smoothly with him, extending Riptide like an extension of my arm. The point of my sword just grazed his hyena leg as the monster launched himself into the air. I cursed softly as he extended wings and circled above me. I had forgotten that this one was part eagle. With lightning agility, the monster tucked in his wings and dove at me, cawing wildly. I waited until the last moment, then shot out of the way. The monster simply turned and followed after me. He was going to tear into my back with his lethally sharp beak. Instantaneously, I felt an inhuman power surge through my veins, and I turned to face the monster. He was rocketing towards me at his top speed. I stood calmly, waiting for him to get close enough to me and-

-slashed Riptide out from behind me to slice the monster's eagle head clean off. The head dropped onto the sandy grass with a sickening plop, while the rest of his body exploded in a gritty yellow sand, spraying me and two monsters that had strayed too close. I stood in silence, staring at the chopped off eagle head lying in front of me. I suddenly felt a little dizzy, and dropped to my knees. I had forgotten that using the Achilles power drained me so much. I was surprised when the monsters remaining burst into cheers. "What?" I croaked, my throat dry. "You aren't mad that I killed him?"

"Don't worry about it, kid. He'll be back in five minutes," one of the monsters assured me. "Whenever a hero defeats us, we only stay dead for about five or ten minutes, then regenerate. However, you don't have to fight him again once he comes back."

"Oh, okay." I didn't really understand this, but hey, what the heck. "Who should I fight next?"

"Oh no, buddy. You can't fight another one of us right now!" The monster looked alarmed. "Haven't you heard the tales?"

"What tales?" I asked through gritted teeth. This was a waste of time. Every minute that went by was another minute where I wasn't curing Annabeth.

"A hero, saddened by his lover's decline,

Shall venture out to the ocean brine.

There he shall fight with the monsters of old,

A battle magnificent, a tale to be told.

Fight with one one day,

Another the next,

He shall wait with impatience,

But do not be vexed.

Wait twenty four hours, and then you may,

Do battle with your next foe the next day.

But hero, beware, for there's always a catch.

If you don't defeat all in time,

Your lover's heart is forever latched."

The monsters all recited this in unison, their deep voices rumbling dramatically. I stared at them. "Pretty poem, but what does it have to do with me?" I asked.

The monster doing the talking sighed impatiently. "It means you have to wait another day until you can fight the next one of us! Heroes today are so stupid," he muttered. I blinked as I realized what he meant.

"Wait, so I have to wait six days before I can get the water?" I yelled at them. They nodded patiently. "That sucks! Who made these rules?" I demanded angrily.

"Zeus." The monsters looked at me calmly. They knew I couldn't argue with the lord of the skies.

"Well this is craptastic," I muttered. Suddenly, the eagle-hyena monster appeared in a flash of bronze light, landing in front of me. He looked distastefully at his head lying on the ground.

"Can you please get rid of that? It's making me nauseous," he complained.

"Uh, sure." I could see where he was coming from. It would be pretty uncomfortable to see your own head lying in front of you. Gingerly, I used the tip of Riptide to nudge the head. It rolled over to the side of the clearing. "What should I do with it?" I asked him.

"Take a feather off it, and the head will disappear," the monster instructed me, averting his eyes. I reached down and plucked a long white feather off the top of his head. The rest of it disappeared in a burst of yellow grit. The curved yellow beak sat atop a pile of the dust. "You can keep my beak too," the monster told me. I picked it up, being careful not to touch the sharp edges. One of the monsters handed me a metal case the size of a shoe box for a pair of boots.

"You can put all of the trophies you claim from us in this box," the monster holding the box explained. I nodded and took the box from him. Opening the lid, I dropped in the feather and the beak. I noted how the feather floated gently down, while the beak clanged in and scored a deep scratch in the metal. Yikes, that was sharp.

"So, uh, what do I do now?" I asked, putting the box in my backpack, which I had set aside before I limboed for the monsters.

"Well, first you should eat. Then we can par-tay!" The monsters yelled happily. I grinned and slung my backpack across my back, following the monsters to the food tables. They tore open boxes of pizza, and we all dug in. I could get used to this, I thought. Except, I need to take this seriously, so I can get the water and go back to camp to cure Annabeth, I reminded myself.

"Who's ready to LIMBO?" A monster yelled. The other monsters swarmed over to him, shouting happily. I grabbed two more pieces of pizza and followed them.

Maybe I could have some fun while I worked.

**HA HA! There! I know that this is another insanely short chapter, but it took me awhile to think of how to play out the fight scene. Did you guys like my poem? I made that up on the spot. =D I will try to force myself to write more fight scenes asap! One down, five to go…**

**Review please! It does make me update faster… =D**

**~TMI~**


	6. IMing

**Okay, I'd just like to say a quick thank you to all the awesome people who reviewed, favorited, or alerted my story! That is Dark Skitty Power, Daughter of Posieden, Sasha1207, AnnabethIsTheBest, Amazing-Anna'beth'1, jahfreenalam, palmerage, percyjacksonfan77, Firestar26, and I think that's it. I'm so sorry if I missed you, and please inform me if I did. I'm honored that so many people like it! Thank you to my reviewers, I love you in a non creepy way! And thanks to my silent readers who favorited and/or alerted, but didn't review. You guys are ok too. No, I'm kidding. I appreciate you all! =D Now I feel obligated to update quickly though…**

**I'll try for one chapter every week or so… But remember, this isn't my only story.**

Percy's POV

The monsters finally settled down after about two or three hours of limbo, dancing between the tiki torches, pineapple pizza, and singing under the star-strewn velvet sky. A soft, warm breeze blew gently through the palm trees, creating a soothing ruffle of sound. My stomach was full of pizza and mango juice, and I was mostly content as I gazed skyward. The monsters were all conked out on grass mats around the glowing coals of the campfire. They had lent me a mat, plus a soft blanket. Most of the monsters had their own thick coats of fur or feathers, and only a few of them needed real blankets. The eagle-hyena hybrid, who had told me to call him Nafrionios, or Frio for short, had lent me his blanket since he didn't need it. I had decided I liked Frio.

Their first questions about me had been typical. What's your name, who's your godly parent, where did you learn to fight, where are you from, who are you getting the water for, do people know you're here? My answers were fairly short and kind of nondescriptive. The questioners _were _still monsters, after all, however nice they were to me. "I'm Percy, my dad is Poseidon (insert admiring gasp here), I train at Camp Half Blood in New York, I'm getting the water for my girlfriend, and yeah… I think they do. At least, I left a note for them…"

"Would you like to send someone an IM to update them? I have a ton of drachmas that I never use, and there's a waterfall with a perfect mist for IM-ing," Frio offered. See? Here is another example of how unreasonably nice these monsters are. I took him up on it, after making sure he wasn't going to need those drachmas. "Are you kidding me?" was his shocked reply. "I have everything I need right here. My friends are handy, there's a perfect beach, an awesome game of Limbo whenever you feel like it, unlimited pineapple pizza and mango juice… It's pretty much paradise for a monster like me. All I have to do is fight a hero every few years or so, and I'm golden."

When he puts it that way, you have to agree that sounds like a pretty good lifestyle…

Ahem.

I made my way down to the waterfall alone, leaving the monsters to gorge on pizza again. I slid carefully through the grasses on the slight slope, scrabbling for purchase with my completely worn down sneakers. After about six minutes, I came upon the waterfall. It was fed by a wide stream gurgling through the rocks a good ten feet above my head. The water crashed down into a deep little pool, creating a fine mist. The only problem was, the mist was in the middle of the pool, up against the rocks. With a slight shrug, I waded into the cold, clear water, sighing at the familiar feel of cool liquid against my skin. Once the water reached my chin, I lifted my feet off the pond bed and swam over to the spray. Once over there, I asked for a slight current to hold me in place while I fished around in my pocket for the drachmas. "Grover Underwood, Camp Half Blood, New York," I requested. Nothing happened for a moment, and I wondered if I needed something like an area code if I was out of the country. Then I saw a familiar curly-haired head appear in the mist. "Grover!" I yelled over the crash of the water in front of me. He jumped four inches in the air, startled by my voice. He turned, and his eyes widened as he saw me.

"Percy?" he asked breathlessly. "PERCY! You're alive! Where are you?" He danced from one hoof to another in excitement.

"I'm in a pond on the magic, god-created isle of Corinthos. I am indeed alive, thanks for noticing. How's everything at camp? How is-" I swallowed the lump coming up in my throat at the thought of her. "How is Annabeth?" Grover looked guiltily around him, and my heart sank. "What happened?" I whispered, my voice cracking a little.

"Camp is fine, everyone is great and healthy and happy and wise and training well and we got two new campers yesterday and Nico dropped by for a visit and Nemesis came and supervised the building of her cabin in the camp today and-" Grover rambled nervously. I cut him off.

"Grover," I said heavily. "What happened with Annabeth?" He closed his mouth sharply, and stared at me pleadingly.

"Well, you know how the arrow Eros shot her with was an arrow of indifference, so she doesn't like you anymore, which you know already because that's why you're in Corinthos and-"

"Grover, get to the point." I was tired of him dancing around what I was trying to get at.

He swallowed nervously. "Eros came back and shot her with the arrow of love and now she is in love with Travis Stoll!" he blurted out. I stared at him in silence, not comprehending.

Oh yeah, the jerk that sent me on this journey to Greece came back and made my true love fall in love with another guy.

"WHAT?" I yelled. Grover winced, and tried to start to say something again. "WAIT ONE MOMENT. EROS HAD THE NERVE TO COME BACK AND MAKE ANNABETH HAVE A CRUSH ON TRAVIS STOLL?"

"Umm, yeah," Grover confirmed quietly, wilting under my wrath.

"God or not, he is going down," I vowed. Suddenly, I felt a lot better now that I had a new enemy to focus my rage on. "How is Travis holding up under Annabeth's affections?" I asked, ignoring the pain in my heart.

"He's hiding in his cabin. All of his siblings are taking turns on watch to make sure that Annabeth doesn't sneak in somehow. Connor raided her cabin and took her Yankees cap, so she can't use invisibility to get past the Hermes cabin's defenses. She's positively livid with rage, and drowning in tears at the same time." Grover's report didn't have an impact on me. I locked my feelings away in a small box and hid it away from my heart. Grover's image suddenly flickered, and I knew that this was Iris' warning that she was going to break the connection soon.  
"I gotta go, G-man. Remind Annabeth that I love her, will you? And tell Travis that I don't have any hard feelings towards him. I will focus my wrath on Eros." I cracked my knuckles, and Grover laughed nervously.

"Will do, Percy. And I feel sorry for Eros," he told me, grinning weakly.

"I don't. He'll deserve everything I give him," I promised. Grover's image warped wildly, and I waved good bye before he swished his arm through the image and broke the connection.

Sigh. Annabeth was- No. I wouldn't think about Annabeth. I would focus on getting the cure for her. It's not her fault that she's-

Nevermind. Now, who to IM next?

I decided on my mom, and fished out another drachma from my pocket. Tossing it in the mist, I watched as it flashed and glinted in the sunlight, then disappeared into the vapors. "Sally Jackson, Upper East Side, New York City." Again, there was a long pause between the moment I offered the drachma and the time when Iris showed me my mother. She was hunched over an open book at the kitchen table in her new apartment that she shared with Paul. Sunlight streamed through the window, dancing on her hair and flashing on her metallic bracelets. I felt a surge of happiness at the sight of her. "Hey mom!" I called out. She looked up, and her face broke out in a smile as she saw me. Soon though, her face clouded with confusion.

"Percy? Why are you in a pond?" she asked, crinkling her forehead.

"Well, I'm kinda in Greece," I told her sheepishly. She sat up straighter.

"What? Why are you in Greece? I thought you were at camp!" My mom stood up and walked closer to the IM.

"Well, to cut a long story short, Annabeth is under the influence of godly magic and the only way to cure her is to get water from this island in Greece," I explained. My mom's brow cleared a little, and she nodded in understanding. "I should be back in about a week."

"Alright then, be careful. Thank you for telling me about this, Percy. When you get back, bring a few of your friends from camp and we can have a little get together to celebrate another quest well done." I smiled. My mom was already positive that I would complete my quest easily. Moms are so great.

"Bye Mom."

"Good-bye, Percy." She waved her hand through the IM and our connection was broken. I thought for a moment. Was there anyone else that I really needed to update? I guess I could IM Travis and reassure him I wasn't mad about the whole Eros-made-my-true-love-fall-in-love-with-him thing. It really wasn't his fault that the gods decided they liked messing with me. Pulling out another drachma, I tossed it into the mist.

"Travis Stoll, Camp Half Blood, New York," I requested. The mist shimmered, and I was shown a picture of Travis, lying on the floor under his bed amid piles of clothes and stuff. His expression was a mixture of terror and guilt. "Hey Travis!" I whispered loudly. He jumped, hitting his head on the bed, then looked at me. He blushed dully.

"Hey Perce. Umm, what's up? How's your quest going?" He babbled. I grinned at him easily.

"Hey, no worries about the whole Eros thing. Grover told me about his reappearance, and I don't blame you," I assured him. Travis sighed thankfully, and visibly relaxed.

"I feel horrible," he admitted to me. "I saw Eros appear on the roof of the Aphrodite cabin while Annabeth was walking by, and was standing right there when he shot her. She face-planted into the dirt and didn't move, so of course I got worried. I ran over to her to see if I could help, and she looked up at me with this weird look in her eyes. I asked her if she was okay, and she said, 'Now that you're here, everything is okay.' Then I got all weirded out, because that just wasn't Annabeth. Then she got up and started chasing me around the camp. My brother and my half-siblings helped me escape her and hide in here. In fact, they're patrolling the cabin right now." Travis gestured out from under the bed, pointing towards the windows. I caught a glimpse of Connor, standing guard outside.

"It must be great to have such loyal siblings," I told him. He grinned lopsidedly.

"Yeah, but I wish I didn't have to ask them to do this," he replied. "I hope you get back soon, Perce. I want to see the outside world again! Plus, I kinda have to go to the bathroom."

"Eww, TMI*," I told him. "I didn't need to know that. Anyway, I should be back in about a week."

"Wait, I have to wait a week to go to the bathroom?" Travis whined. I grinned at him, and he shrugged. "Whatever. I'll just hold it in."

"Why don't you just lock Annabeth up in her cabin while you go refresh yourself?" I suggested. "Confiscate her knife, duct tape her to a chair, and stick her in the closet."

"Man, this is your girlfriend we're talking about!" Travis scolded jokingly.

"Not right now, she isn't," I whispered soberly. There was an awkward silence, during which, Travis inhaled a dust bunny, and we both started laughing again. "Okay man, good luck with Annabeth," I told him. He grinned.

"Good luck getting the water," he replied. "I'll see you when you get back to camp Perce." And with that, he waved his hand through the IM, and we were disconnected. I swam back to the shallows, and walked back out of the pool. My clothes were, as always, perfectly dry as I trudged back up the grassy hill. I was greeted enthusiastically by the monsters, and Frio handed me a cup of mango juice. I drained the cup thirstily and handed it back to him with a thank-you. Soon after, we all hit the hay, which brought my thoughts back to my current position, lying on the ground, facing the stars. Tomorrow I was going to fight with Leontrestar a snake-lion hybrid. Trest was insanely good at Limbo, so odds were he was an excellent fighter. I was not looking forward to that battle. I had pretty much become friends with all the monsters, and even if they regenerated ten minutes after, I still didn't like killing them.

I'm on a roll with the totally normal sentences, aren't I?

I sighed and rolled over onto my side, staring into the glowing embers of the campfire. I had better get some sleep so I could fight Trest. After all, great Limboers were often great fighters, and I had a feeling that Trest would be hard to beat.

**BOO-YAH! I totally got another chapter done in less than a week! I think. Was that less than a week? Lemme check… **Goes to Fanfiction****

**Gazzy: Hi! **

**Angel: Let me type!**

**Gazzy: NO!**

**Angel: TMI! Gazzy isn't letting me type!**

**Neither of you should be typing right now!**

**Gazzy/Angel: awww…**

**Anyway, I realized that I updated last on 9/18, and today is **checks iPod** 9/26. Therefore, I updated in eight days! That's just about a week. So yeah, BOO-YAH is right!**

**Nudge: TMI obviously forgot, so that * she put in was to say "oh yeah, Percy just used my penname! So burn!"**

**Thank you Nudge. I had forgotten.**

**Nudge: You're welcome.**

**~TMI~**


	7. The Coward whose name is Trest

** I had sincerely forgotten that I had to write another chapter of this. Not. Even. Joking. XD You should all thank Wingedgirl36 for reminding me about it! And thank Dark Skitty Power for forcing me to write it (You forced me Skitty. There's no denying it! XD) So yeah, I'll get on with it. But ONCE AGAIN! This is not my only story, and I have very low inspiration levels for this. Also, I am trying to update Life As a Teenage Bird Kid more often, since so many people insist it's my best fic. And now, people are insisting that I keep writing The iPod Screen too! Jeez, so many fics, so little time…**

…

**So yeah… **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything that belongs to the person that isn't me.**

**CLAIMER: I OWN TREST, THE SNAKEYLION!**

** Percy Boy's POV**

_Annabeth smiled at me, and I grinned back. We were in our underwater bubble back under the lake at camp. She placed her hands on my shoulders, and I hugged her closer to me, until we were just an inch away. She was gazing directly at me, with those beautiful stormy gray eyes of hers unusually calm. She leaned forward, and right before her lips brushed mine-_

A shaft of light, aimed perfectly by Apollo, beamed off of his chariot and hit me straight in the eyes, immediately waking me up. I sat up groggily, rubbing my eyes. It came back to me in a flash.

I was on Corinthos.

Annabeth hated me.

She loved Travis Stoll.

I had to fight five more monsters to get her cure.

I had to get back to camp in… one, two, three, four… Six more days to get the water! If I had six days to get the water, and I was forced to wait five more days, including today, to fight the monsters before getting the water, then I only had one day to get back to camp! Dang it, I hate Eros so much…

Why did Apollo interrupt my dream? It was so much nicer than reality. He probably just wanted to mess with me. "Why can't you gods just leave me alone?" I asked the sky quietly, not wanting to wake up the monsters. "I'd be ever so happy if I could have one normal day in my life." Thunder rumbled across the sky. Apparently the gods didn't want to leave me alone. Jerks.

I got up off of my mat, leaving the blanket in a heap on top of it. I never was one for making my bed, and anyway, it was just going to be picked up and moved out of the way later. As I stood up, I wondered if there was any food I could eat while I was waiting for the monsters to wake up. My gaze was caught by the buffet table from last night. Instead of the big **Monster's Fine Dining: Pizza Branch **boxes from before, the table was filled with a ton of breakfast foods. There was a bowl of fresh fruits like peaches, bananas and apples, another bowl with fruit salad made up of mango, pineapple, watermelon and grapes, and a couple pitchers of juice and water by the end, next to a stack of green-glass cups. In between the fruits and juices were huge platters of waffles and bacon. When I say huge, I mean the size of a turkey platter huge, piled with bacon six inches high, and the waffles rose on their plate for another six inches above the bacon. I gazed at them hungrily, wondering how much I could take before I annoyed the monsters. "It's magic," A voice behind me said simply. I turned to see Frio standing behind me in line for the buffet table too. He was insanely quiet, I hadn't even heard him coming! "Every time you take something, another waffle or fruit or bacon strip, more food will appear to replace it. So take as much as you want, young hero."

"Thanks for telling me that," I replied somewhat awkwardly. "I didn't know how much I was supposed to take." He nodded, and picked up two plates from the end, handing one to me. I held it in one hand while I spooned a big mound of fruit salad on first, before moving to get six waffles out of the stack. As Frio had explained, every time I took a waffle, another appeared on the stack, creating a never-ending supply of waffle-y goodness. I was in heaven by the time I got to the bacon plate. "Where can I get one of these?" I asked Frio in awe, watching as he took fourteen waffles off the stack. More waffles appeared almost as soon as he took his hand away.

"It was a present from Hermes, I think," Frio told me, piling bacon on top of his waffles. "You could ask him." I grinned and moved on to the end of the table. It was covered in containers of butter, syrup, whipped cream, and berries. I deftly spread butter across the top of each of my waffles, filled every depression with syrup, and piled each with a roof of whipped cream before stacking them one on top of the other.

"You are skilled in the art of waffle-making, young hero," Trest complimented me, rubbing his eyes with scaly paws as he grabbed a plate of the end of the table. I nodded in thanks, putting my plate down to pour myself a glass of mango juice. I'd had this stuff about twice before, and both times it was insanely delicious. Juggling my now extremely heavy plate of food and the almost completely full glass of mango juice, I made my way over to a wooden picnic table that had somehow appeared in the middle of the night. I didn't bother asking about how it got there, instead digging into my waffles. Soon Frio and Trest came to sit at the table also. My method of eating waffles consists of cutting them into those neat little triangular quarters most of them are sectioned into, then carefully picking up a quarter with one hand and eating one pocket of sugar at a time until I finished the quarter. I repeated this maneuver until all six of my waffles were safely inside my stomach. Then, I started on my bacon.

Bacon = heaven in Percyland.

While I was eating, the rest of the monsters were waking up. They sleepily formed a line at the buffet and piled their plates with food. Every single one of them got more than twelve waffles, and easily finished them all. Their bacon-eating skills were very admirable also. Frio and Trest finished their huge stacks in about two minutes. After I finished my breakfast, I put the plate on the magic tray thingy the monsters had shown me last night. When it sensed something being placed on it, it would magically whisk it away, and in a minute it would come back squeaky clean. It was really kinda nifty!

After every monster had finished eating their breakfasts (it didn't take that long for them to finish) Trest came up to me and asked when I would like to battle. After my little revelation about exactly how much time I had left to cure Annabeth, I wanted to get the water as quickly as possible. "Can we fight in half an hour?" I asked Trest. He seemed surprised by my request.

"Are you sure you want to die that soon?" he asked me curiously. I saw no hint of teasing in his ancient black eyes. Trest truly thought he could kill me easily. I decided to let him keep that happy little thought for now. He would soon see that he was wrong.

"That's fine with me. On the sliver of a chance that I could beat you, I'd like to do it as soon as possible so I can get the water for my girlfriend," I explained. He nodded, though he still looked a little skeptical.

"Half-bloods do so much for this thing they call 'love'," Trest sighed. "Alright then, young hero. We will fight in thirty minutes." He bowed to me formally and walked off to prepare. I headed off to the spring that Frio had told me about yesterday to have a long soak before our battle. I could use some extra energy.

**$&%*I JUST RECENTLY REALIZED THAT THE JERKISH THING ON FF THAT GOES OVER THE STORIES WAS DELETING MY LINE-BREAKS. THIS, MY FRIENDS, IS A LINE.*%&$**

I looked at my wristwatch and realized that I only had a few minutes before I had to fight Trest. With a resigned sigh, I pushed off the bottom of the spring, where I had been sitting for the past twenty minutes. As my head broke the surface, I took in a breath of air, once again feeling the odd sensation of breathing air after breathing water for a long time. If you could try it, you would know that it just feels plain weird.

I paddled to the side of the pool, and heaved myself out of the water, immediately feeling my energy decrease. Even with my now-lowered energy levels, I was now stronger and way more alert than I had been before my swim. Sometimes, it's really fun to be the son of Poseidon.

Walking through the little forest separating the spring from the monster's camp, I wondered why Trest thought he could defeat me so easily. I'd have to ask him after he regenerated from dying. There was no way I was getting killed now, so obviously, I would have to defeat Trest quickly. Finally, I walked out of the trees and back into the camp. There was no one in sight.

Frio was missing from his usual spot in the Limbo area, and so were the other three monsters who always were there. Trest was nowhere to be seen, and the other monster he hung out with, a cat-octopus hybrid named KaRinoline, was also gone. KaRino was usually found hanging around by the buffet table, but the table was completely deserted.

Something was wrong.

I pulled Riptide out of my pocket, uncapping it without looking down as I surveyed the scene. Something was definitely wrong. No monsters were Limboing or pigging out on the pineapple pizza. Trest was so sure he was going to kill me, so where did he go?

My question was answered as I heard a twig snap behind me, and I whirled around to face Trest. His face, covered with mixed patterns of black scales and golden fur, had a look of surprise on it. "Dang it," he muttered.

"What are you doing?" I asked him suspiciously. He was holding a long spear in one hand, and a dagger in the other. "Where is everyone else?"

"Uh, umm, they went, uh, fishing!" Trest fumbled for words before coming upon an excuse. I immediately knew he was lying.

"Did you send them away so they wouldn't see you fighting me? Were you trying to kill me just now so you wouldn't have to fight me?" Suddenly, I knew this was the truth. I don't like being backstabbed, and definitely not literally like Trest was about to. That he was going to just kill me quietly behind my back got me really angry. Frio had fought fair and square, why couldn't Trest? Waves roared in my ears, and my vision went completely white.

I knew I was doing something probably extremely dangerous and extremely powerful, but I wasn't sure exactly what I was doing. I hoped I wouldn't pass out as I felt an intense tugging in my chest.

Suddenly, the white clouding my vision dissipated, and the roaring of the waves in my ears calmed down. I was standing in the only dry circle of ground in the entire monster camp, my arms outstretched and head pounding. Trest's body lay on the ground, his fur wet and scales slick with water. I looked at his glassy eyes and realized that he was dead.

A wave of nausea swept over me, and my knees buckled. I fell to the ground, placing my head against wet earth. It was soaked with saltwater, I realized. I had commanded water all the way from the ocean to come inland and kill Trest.

That was insanely creepy.

Pretty cool, but still insanely creepy.

After a moment of just lying there, I managed to get up and stumble over to the picnic table, collapsing on its bench. At the same time, the other five monsters, including Frio and KaRino, ran into the clearing, halting when they realized their paws/claws/tentacles were getting wet. They looked down at the saltwater-soaked ground, then at where Trest lay, and finally at me, sitting at the picnic table and looking weakly out over the scene. "What happened?" Frio finally asked.

I told them about why Trest had sent them away, how he had tried to sneak up on me and kill me, and how I had somehow drowned him with saltwater from an ocean half a mile away. Frio and KaRino looked angrily at Trest's corpse. "He told us we needed to go find more wishroot for the washing tray!" she hissed angrily in her feline-accented voice. "Trest always was a coward," she added. "I'm not as surprised as I would be."

Frio shook his head sadly. "I wonder why Trest did that. He knew that if Percy killed him he would just regenerate."

"Why don't you ask him when he does regenerate?" I suggested. "KaRino, can you please pour me a cup of mango juice? I don't think I have the strength to walk over there." She nodded, still fuming about Trest's cowardice, and stalked over to the buffet table. Frio looked at me interestedly.

"How did you command that water to come so far inland?" he asked me. I shrugged, fighting the waves of tiredness that were suddenly flowing into my mind.

"I don't know. When I realized that Trest had tried to sneak-attack and kill me, how he had gotten you all to leave so you wouldn't know, I guess I just went berserk. My powers went on autopilot, and I couldn't do anything. I was just acting as a channel for the water to go through, I guess," I told him. Frio nodded thoughtfully, soaking in everything I had just said.

"That is very interesting, young hero," he replied finally. KaRino had come back over with a glass of mango juice, and I was sipping it thirstily when her tabby cat ears pricked up.

"Trest is returning," she informed us distastefully. "We must question him." I nodded, and suddenly Frio stood up from the picnic table and helped me off the bench. I let myself be led away from it before asking where Frio was taking me.

"You didn't take your trophy yet," he told me. I nodded, and we walked over to Trest's body. "Trest will be very upset that you killed him. This is only the second time Trest has died in over a hundred years!" Suddenly Frio scowled. "Now that I think about it, Trest always managed to make us leave before he killed a hero. I wonder if he's been backstabbing the heroes all along…" We made it over to Trest's corpse, and I knelt beside it, avoiding the glassy stare of his dead eyes. I plucked off a tuft of hair from his lion mane. Once the fur left his nick, his entire body disappeared but for three shiny black scales. I sighed in relief when his corpse disappeared. It was kind of unsettling to have a dead snake-lion hybrid monster lying in front of you. I carried the fur and scales over to my trophy box, and right as I dropped them inside, Trest appeared directly in front of KaRino. With her cat agility, she reached out her arm with lightning speed and grabbed Trest by the mane, digging her claws lightly into his neck, not far enough to kill him, but certainly far enough to cause him a lot of pain.

"Why are you such a coward Trest?" KaRino purred at him. He just gurgled unhappily, before spitting up a large amount of water, and glancing at me with an ashamed, unhappy look on his face.

"It isn't fun to be drowned," he told me sadly. KaRino's eyes narrowed, and she unsheathed the claws of her other paw and slashed across Trest's face. He howled pathetically in pain, but none of the monsters or I moved.

"Answer my question, Trest," KaRino hissed. She was extremely scary as she dug her claws further into Trest's shoulder and neck. He wriggled, trying to get out of her hold, but only succeeding in getting her claws wedged better in his thick skin and scales. We stared at him.

Finally, he stopped struggling. "I don't like dying," Trest whined. "Even if I get alive again in a few minutes, it's really painful. Drowning is the worst experience ever! It's even worse than getting stabbed through the gut with a sword like the last guy did to me." Trest paused and shuddered. "And _that _was awful," he added mournfully.

Frio kicked him. "You can't go killing heroes in that awful way Trest! That's just not right! I'm going to report you to Lord Zeus," Frio threatened. Trest's eyes got wide as he struggled more.

"Please no, Frio! Please don't! I've been your friend for eons, and now you're going to report me for a little thing like this?" Trest wheedled. Frio's eyes hardened as he stared at him. Trest eventually cowered back, and KaRino dug her claws even further into his neck.

"Yes I will," Frio told him seriously. Suddenly, Trest gurgled again, and KaRino extracted her claws from his neck. He fell down, dead again. Suddenly, everyone was more cheerful.

"Trest is so annoying sometimes," KaRino confided in me, wiping her claws clean on the part of his mane that wasn't bloody.

I nodded. "I totally agree." KaRino smiled in her secretive kitty-cat way, before padding off, her octopus tentacles whirling around in the air like they were waving at me. It was totally weird and unsettling, but in an odd way, kind of cute too.

I felt a lot better, and when Frio yelled "LIMBO TIME!" I was the first one under the bar.

**A HA! I totally just updated! I'm sorry for the totally unreasonably long wait, but I really don't like writing fight scenes, and my inspiration for fanfiction in general has been depleted for awhile now while I concentrate (somewhat XD) on my fictionpress. TA TA! Please review! It makes me feel happy, and when I'm happy, I write more. I'm not the kind of author who'll ask for a certain number of reviews before writing another chapter, but let's face it. EVERY AUTHOR LOVES REVIEWS. AMEN.**

XD

**~TMI~**


	8. AN

Hey Peoples, I'm so sorry I've been MIA.

REPENT.

It's not entirely my fault. You see, soon after New Years-

Nudge: And that New Years Resolution you made that raised everyone's hopes about you updating quicker-

I said I was sorry! Anyway, my computer totally and utterly DIED. And I had half of the next iPod Screen chappie typed up, all of the next chapter for two other stories, the ideas for School Days and Erasing Lissa, and the beginnings of the next chapter for ATM Wars and Race for the Cure. So yeah, I need to figure out how to raise my laptop from the dead. Then, I will update EVERYTHING in a major spree! But just saying, I procrastinated on writing this A/N 'cause I hate writing them, and there are some stories where this will be the second A/N, which I HATE. I'm so sorry you guys. Please forgive me.

Angel: She's banging her head against the wall.

Gazzy: Poor TMI…. –eats cookies-

HEY! That was MY cookie! –tackles Gazzy-

…

This is Nudge writing. TMI is wrestling with Gazzy over the last cookie now. So yeah, this note was typed on TMI's mother's computer, but the lady won't let her write whole chapters 'cause it takes too long and TMI's little brother-

Angel: She calls him Shortso. XP

-needs to type up his project. So yeah! Byezas!

Angel? Will you do the honors?

Angel: SURE! So sorry about the inconvenience people, TMI is beating herself up about disappointing you guys…. Now to write her signature thingymacdoodle!

~TMI~


	9. Tratie saves the day! XD

**Hi! I am back from the dead! XD Actually, I wasn't dead. I've just been focusing on two stories right now, and in effect, RftC has been neglected. But why don't we check up on our favorite heroine? =D**

Annabeth's POV

_I was wandering around in the forest, dagger at the ready in case a monster jumped out at me suddenly. I was a bit paranoid, but hey! Better wary than dead. A twig snapped behind me, and I whirled around to face the noise. "Who's there?" I called out, my voice ringing in the still forest. A tall boy with long black hair and sea-green eyes stepped out from behind a tree. Percy. "What do you want with me?" I asked, my voice quavering slightly. Percy approached me, his green eyes brimming with sadness. I stood there, unable to move, as he walked right up to me and cupped my chin in both hands. I tried to avert my eyes, but Percy tilted my face up to look directly at him._

_ "Annabeth," he whispered. "I miss you."_

_ My head felt a bit peculiar at this point, and I was beginning to get frightened. Suddenly, I regained mobility, and lurched away from Percy. "What do you want with me?" I repeated, leveling my dagger at him. Percy simply gazed at my knife sadly, a hint of a remorseful smile tugging at his lips._

_ "Oh, this is truly ironic," a lazy voice drawled behind me. I pivoted to hear the voice, still keeping my dagger pointed at Percy. His smile grew, losing its sadness as he looked over at the speaker. It was a breathtaking young guy. He had sandy hair and mischievously twinkling eyes, and his arms were long and tan, crossed over his chest as he leaned against a tree. It was Travis. I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. When had he gotten so gorgeous?_

_ "Travis!" Percy greeted . "Can you talk to Annabeth please?" Travis nodded, striding confidently towards me. I had to catch my breath as he stood only a foot in front of me. I kept my dagger pointed at Percy though. Percy was clearly not in his right mind, and I needed to protect myself from him. Maybe Travis could help me ward him off. _

_ "Yo Annabeth," Travis began, his eyes no longer twinkling. Instead, they were looking at me seriously. I bit my lip, trying to keep from squealing as he said my name. "You need to stop keeping Percy away. You'll kill him." I frowned. This was not what I wanted Travis to say. I wanted more along the lines of, 'please make out with me!'_

_ "Gee, thanks Trav," Percy interjected, still keeping his gaze on me. "You make me sound all pathetic."_

_ "You are pathetic though," Travis reasoned. I giggled at his logic, and he glanced at me, alarmed. "Annabeth. You need to-"_

_ "What do I need to do?" I asked breathlessly, taking a step forward. He swiftly took a step back. I pouted. Travis wasn't playing fair!_

_ "Dammit Annabeth, listen to me!" Travis yelled, startling me out of my thoughts. "Don't follow me around like a lovesick puppy! Percy is your __boyfriend__, for crying out loud!" My jaw dropped. Percy wasn't my boyfriend! And Travis- "Annabeth," he continued, unaware of my thoughts. "You need to-"_

"WAKE UP! Geez, Annabeth! You sleep like the dead!" A voice complained from above me. I blinked my eyes blearily, finding Grover's face above mine. I smiled at him.

"Hi Grover. What's up?" I asked, stifling a yawn. He backed up, allowing me to get out of my bed. I was still wearing my regular clothes, as I had chose not to wear pajamas to sleep last night, so I followed Grover straight out of my cabin. He shifted nervously from hoof to hoof, his eyes glancing everywhere at once. "Grover?" I repeated, tapping his shoulder. He whirled around to face me, looking alarmed. "Grover, is something wrong?" I asked again, beginning to get worried. Grover glanced over my shoulder, and visibly relaxed.

"Oh, nothing's wrong, Annabeth," he assured me, still looking over my shoulder. I frowned at him.

"Hey, what're you looking at?" I turned around, looking around for the source of Grover's interest.

"Oh, it's nothing," he tried to say, but I didn't hear him over my shock. My whole body seemed to freeze, and I couldn't look away from the sight in front of me. It was awful, it was horrible, it was my _worst nightmare._ Travis stood next to the Demeter cabin, I recognized his tall form and sandy hair. The twinkling eyes that made my heart beat faster were focused on the girl in front of him. I recognized her in a moment. It was a daughter of Demeter, which made sense, as they were standing outside her cabin. However, the horrible thing was the way Travis was looking at her. He seemed utterly intent on her, and was backing her up against the wall of the cabin, whispering something to her. The girl blushed, and let out a forced-sounding giggle as she hit the wall. With a look of alarm on her face, she glanced at the wall, then back at Travis. Travis grinned cheekily at her, and her blush grew as he placed his hands against the wall on either side of her, boxing the girl in. Her eyes widened, now locked completely on Travis' eyes. Travis leaned forward, and I couldn't tear my eyes away as the girl's own fluttered closed. Then, disaster struck.

I stood there, completely frozen, as my true love began to kiss another girl. It wasn't just a chaste kiss either, and it definitely was not one-sided. Travis was very passionate as he moved his lips against hers, and the girl was responding to his attentions, winding her arms around his shoulders and knotting her fingers in his unruly hair. I couldn't move, couldn't speak. Grover tried to say something else, but I couldn't hear him. All I could do was watch Travis make out with this girl, moving his hands from the wall down to her waist. Then, when she moaned something against his lips, something inside me snapped. I couldn't take it anymore. Letting out frustrated growl, I whirled on my heel and stalked off towards the swords arena. I needed to let off some steam. Maybe one of the good fighters from Ares was there, and I could whup their butt to make myself feel better. The image of Travis and that girl kissing was burned into my mind. I couldn't dislodge it, no matter how hard I tried. Against my will, hot tears poured down my face, trailing across my mouth. I licked my lips, somehow finding comfort in the saltwater. It reminded me of something, but I wasn't exactly sure what. In the end, the tears themselves comforted me with their salty liquid. A burst of longing rose in my chest as the last tear caressed my cheek, but not for the life of me could I figure out _why._ I was so confused.

I stumbled into the arena, my eyes immediately landing on Clarisse. She was stretching out, her eyes flashing as she muttered angrily under her breath. A tight smile fell across my lips. If she was angry, it would be an even better fight. I would feel better in no time. No matter if Travis betrayed me. I had my own ways to comfort myself.

"Hey Clarisse!" I called, grinning cockily at her. She lifted her head and glared at me, before continuing to stretch. "Wanna spar? No holding out. I need to burn some energy." Clarisse's eyes flashed again, but this time in anticipation.

"Bring it on, Wise Girl," she growled, cracking her knuckles as she rose to her feet. My smile wavered at the nickname. It sounded so familiar, and I got the feeling that it was a cherished name for me. Who had called me that? I didn't remember Clarisse starting the nickname, or else it wouldn't feel so… _right._ But there was no time to ponder the name, because Clarisse was charging me, her sword at the ready. Another smile tugged at the corners of my lips. I was ready.

Travis' POV

"Come on, Katie!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Do it for Percy!"

"Some other girl can do this for him," Katie retorted. I sighed, racking my mind for means of persuasion. We were standing outside Katie's cabin, arguing for the millionth time. Arguing with Katie was fun, since she always surprised me with some witty comeback. She was a smart girl, to manage to outwit a son of Hermes sometimes.

"Katie," I began. "Grover and I came up with this plan to try and counteract Eros' second attack on Annabeth. You know she got all obsessed with me, and I've had to hide in my cabin for the past two days?" I asked. Katie nodded, looking grim. "Well, Grover and I figured that we could try to make her hate me somehow, maybe deflect the arrow's power off of me. So Grover's gonna lead Annabeth out here, and she's gonna walk over and see me kissing another girl. That's where you come in!" Katie rolled her eyes, but I noticed a hint of a blush gracing her cheeks.

"Travis, I understand your plan perfectly well. It actually sounds smart, for once," she began. I opened my mouth to argue that all my plans were smart, but Katie shot me a look, and I shut up. "But I don't see why _I _have to be the girl Annabeth sees you kissing!"

"Well, you're kind of handy right now," I replied, grinning mischievously. Katie narrowed her eyes at me, but soon relaxed into a grin. After a moment of silence, she raised an eyebrow at me.

"What do I get out of it?" she demanded, crossing her arms. I mentally cheered. Katie was going to help!

"You can have whatever you want," I assured her. "Just help with our plan. I want my freedom back!" Katie smiled, pretending to think over my offer.

"Fine," she decided. "I'll help."

"Thank you Katie!" I jumped up and down to illustrate my excitement. Katie laughed again, but looked a little wary still.

"So, when do we- have to execute the plan?" Katie asked, blushing a little. I smirked, noticing her reluctance to say _kiss._

"Whenever Annabeth shows up," I replied. We stood in silence for a moment, before Katie sighed.

"Travis, I still don't understand why _I _have to be the girl you use to make her hate you! Why me? Why not a daughter of Aphrodite? I'm sure Lora would love to kiss you," Katie added, referring to a particularly giggly daughter of Aphrodite. I grimaced.

"Do you think _I _want to kiss _her _though?" I asked plainly. Katie thought for a moment.

"No."

"Exactly."

"So why me?" Katie persisted. She blushed heavily as she kept speaking. "Do you _want_ to kiss- me?" Katie rushed through the words, her blush growing. I smiled hesitantly at her.

"Maybe," I admitted. If possible, Katie blushed even more, looking at the ground.

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." I took a step towards her suddenly, lifting her chin and placing my lips firmly on hers. Katie didn't respond for a moment, before raising her hands to my shoulders and squeezing them tightly. Kissing Katie was as perfect as I thought it would be, sending fireworks crashing through my head. I smiled against her lips before pulling gently away. Katie looked at me with her hands still gripping my shoulders, completely thrown. Then, she glanced around us, frowning.

"Where's Annabeth?" she asked. I smirked.

"I dunno," I replied mischievously. Katie's jaw dropped, and she pulled her hands off my shoulders, taking a step back.

"Travis Stoll! Why did you kiss me if Annabeth isn't here?" she demanded, looking suitably ruffled. My smirk grew, and I shrugged innocently at her.

"Practice run?" I suggested. Katie facepalmed, and opened her mouth to say something, when I heard Grover's voice waft over. Katie shut her mouth, hearing him too. "This, my dear, will not be a practice run," I whispered. Katie blushed again. Dang, that girl had serious blushing powers! I'd never seen someone blush so much in the space of five minutes. I heard Grover's hooves click on the ground, tearing me out of my Katie-induced haze. Someone was walking behind him, and they were wearing sneakers. I glanced quickly over, to see Annabeth's back turned towards Katie and I.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Annabeth's voice drifted over, and she turned around. I shifted my gaze back to Katie, completely ignoring Annabeth's presence.

"This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill," I whispered, smiling brightly at the girl in front of me. Katie shook her head, letting out a noise that sounded like a cross between a cough and a giggle. I grinned at her again, taking a step forward. Katie immediately stepped back, but hit the side of her cabin. She turned her head to look at the wall, then glanced back at me, her eyes wide. "Hey Kates, do you have a cold? I have some cough drops back in my cabin if you want to go get them," I offered, raising my eyebrows suggestively. Katie raised an eyebrow right back at me.

"No, Travis, I do not want to go get cough drops from your cabin," she whispered back, her voice sounding slightly breathless. I focused on the movement of her lips. My own mouth was still tingling slightly from our 'practice run'. I definitely wanted to kiss Katie again.

So I did.

"Show time," I whispered, closing the gap between us. Katie's eyes shut, and I heard her breath hitch as my breath wafted in front of her face. Then, our lips connected, and I didn't think anymore. All I could focus on was the feel of Katie's fingers running through my hair, and her slightly chapped lips covering my own. Time seemed to stop, as if Kronos were back. But this was far better than Kronos. All I felt was warmth, cascading from my lips, down over my shoulders, and resonating through my body. Damn, Katie was a good kisser. Katie let out a small noise as I moved my mouth against hers, immediately complying and starting to shift her own lips in reply. Vaguely, I heard sounds that seemed to indicate that Grover and Annabeth had left, but I ignored them. The longer time spent kissing Katie, the better. Katie didn't even seem to realize the others were gone, instead continuing to move her lips against mine. A small smile curled on my face, and I let my mind settle down under the numbing spell Katie was casting over me.

**Soooo… Tratie update! XD I love that pairing. I repent for being MIA, but this is not a top priority story right now. I pumped out an update because someone reminded me to… XD If you like this story, I do suggest you review, so I get forced off my butt and write more. =D Plus, I love to read reviews. They make me happy inside. =D =D =D**

**Thanks in advance! =P**

**~TMI~**


	10. KaRino Purrs

**Dedicated to jahfreenalam and bookwormgirl2497, my only two reviewers! XD To be fair, I hadn't updated in awhile, and I didn't give a lot of time for reviewing. But I felt bad, so here's another chapter! Back to writing fight scenes… -sigh-**

**OH! And some people were wondering who Gaz, Nudge, and Angel were. I kidnapped them to be my fictional minions. They talk, eat my food, and basically inspire me in my writing. They are all characters in the Flock in the Maximum Ride series.**

**Angel: hi! –waves at readers-**

**So yeah. On with the chapter! =D**

**Percy's POV**

I groaned as I turned over on my side, wondering why the mattress was so hard. My face collided with something squishy as I rolled, and I sat bolt upright, gasping and ready to fight. I looked down to see what I had rolled onto and-

It was a piece of half-eaten pineapple pizza.

I groaned again, picking up the pizza slice and tossing it away. I realized why my mattress was so hard then, looking around at my surroundings. It was because I wasn't on my mattress, I was lying on a thin mat on the ground. That made sense.

It all flooded back to me then. Eros shooting Annabeth, the quest to Corinthos, battling Frio and Trest. I had thought it had been nothing but a bad dream. Apparently not.

Dammit.

I rolled to my feet, ambling over to the magic food table to see what was laid out. The sun was peaking in the sky, and I could imagine Apollo grumbling as he drove his chariot in the same route for the billionth time. I was the only one awake in the camp; all the monsters were asleep. Trest was snoring off to the side, his back turned towards the monsters. They had all been mad at him when they figured out what he had done to all the heroes over the years, and he had been banned from the luau last night. Consequently, Trest was in a bad mood, and none of the others would speak to him. KaRino was curled up in a ball on her mat, her tentacles waving as her cat legs twitched in her sleep. It was cute, in a creepy, monster sort of way.

I turned back towards the table, grabbing a plate and beginning to load it down with the same food that had appeared yesterday. I needed my strength back today especially. I had spent a lot of energy yesterday summoning the ocean from so far inland, driving it with such force and for so long that it drowned Trest where he stood. I grimaced at the thought, piling more bacon onto my plate. Trest had deserved his little swim, and I shouldn't regret it. He had killed far too many heroes over the years through trickery for me to feel bad about killing him once. But I was still drained from using my power so heavily, and KaRino was a strong fighter. She was fast, with her feline agility, and the tentacles sprouting around her waist and legs were strong. I had witnessed her kill Trest yesterday just using her speed and one clawed paw. I was not going to take her on lightly.

With this thought in mind, I went back and piled more waffles on my plate. I would need the energy, I realized, biting into a ripe pear. I sat down at the picnic table, setting my plate in front of me, and lifted a forkful of waffle to my mouth. Mmm… Delicious.

One of the monsters stirred, standing and rubbing the sleep from their eyes. "Hi Ruli," I greeted the monster through a mouthful of bacony goodness. Ruli nodded, quirking an ear at me before grabbing a plate to load up with food. Ruli was, like all of the other monsters on Corinthos, a mix between two mortal animals. Ruliliante was an elephant-crocodile combo, with large, floppy gray ears, slitted yellow eyes, a long, scaly tail, and skin that was a patchy mess of gray and green. Ruli's crocodile snout was longer than normal, thanks to the elephant part of her, and it turned gray towards the tip. I watched her mouth open in anticipation as she piled more and more bacon onto her plate. Her gums were lined with four rows of extra, razor-sharp teeth. I gave an involuntary shudder as I watched her run her grayish tongue over the last row, and Ruli turned her crocodilian gaze towards me, and I busied myself with my fruit salad. Finally, she finished packing her plate and lumbered over to the picnic table. Ruli sat on the other side, immediately digging into her food. She didn't bother to make conversation, but we sat in a somewhat companionable silence. I understood her wish to eat, and was grateful I didn't have to stop my own breakfast to make small talk.

One by one, the monsters woke up, made their way to the breakfast line, and sat down to eat. Frio and KaRino flanked me at the table, both of them keeping a sharp watch on Trest. The snake-lion kept his eyes on his food, and ate silently at his end of the table. I was glad that I had some protection, just in case I needed it. Frio and KaRino were good friends, even if they were monsters.

Too bad I had to mar our friendship with killing them. Thankfully, Frio didn't seem to mind at all. I hoped KaRino would be as compliant. That is, if I managed to kill her. I was beginning to feel pessimistic after watching her move so quickly with her claws yesterday. Was getting this water really worth risking my life four more times?

Yes, it was! I snapped myself out of my doubtful haze, glaring at the last waffle on my plate. Annabeth was worth it, I just knew. She was worth it. I didn't care if I had to fight all of the monsters at once. I would get the stupid water and maker her stop hating me. I don't think I could take it if she never realized her real feelings about me again. I was almost sure that- that-

I thought that I might just love Annabeth. I would get the water and cure her. Then, I would make sure she knew how I really felt.

Then, I'd go after Eros. God or not, he would get a taste of Perseus Jackson.

"I'm going to the pool again," I muttered, sliding out from between Frio and KaRino. Frio nodded, and KaRino simply kept watching Trest. The only acknowledgement of my words I got out of her was a flick of her cat tail. "I'll be back in awhile to fight you, KaRino."

That got her attention. She smiled sadly, her feline face looking strange in the expression. "I look forward to our battle, Perseus," she replied, her tentacles lashing furiously through the air. I nodded in reply, then turned to go take a dip in the pool. I needed to see Annabeth again, even if she hated me. I just needed to look at her.

I jogged through the forest, taking care not to slip on the slick sandy patches. Soon, I was half-submerged in the cool water of the pool again, staring at the mist made by the waterfall. I had a few more drachmas from the supply Frio had given me, and I pulled one of them from my pocket. Taking a moment to gather my courage, I took a deep breath. I closed my eyes, and tossed the drachma into the mist. "Annabeth Chase, Camp Halfblood, New York," I requested, my voice cracking as I said her name. The mist wavered, then immediately came to a picture of Annabeth. She was fighting Clarisse in the arena at camp. Clarisse was using her sword, and there was fierce anger in her eyes, but Annabeth only had her dagger in hand_. That wasn't very fair,_ I mused. I watched them fight for a moment, choosing not to say anything. Annabeth didn't notice me, floating in the Iris Message, but I was sure I saw Clarisse's eyes flicker towards me once. Clarisse knew I was there, but she chose not to say anything. Instead, she continued to battle Annabeth. They were equally matched in skill, but Clarisse had an obvious advantage with her sword. The blade in her hand was easily two feet longer than Annabeth's dagger, but Annabeth either didn't notice, or didn't care. I rolled my eyes, wondering what got her into such a tizzy. Perhaps Travis had done something to anger her, since he was her little crush. After a few more minutes of watching Annabeth whirl around with Clarisse, her beautiful gray eyes flashing, and her curls whipping around her head, the IM began to dissolve. "Bye Annabeth," I told her, watching her sadly through the disappearing picture. She whirled around, startled by my voice, and stared at the IM.

"Percy?" she asked, confused. Clarisse didn't move to strike, instead standing and watching our little scene. The anger in her eyes had died down a little, but she didn't say a word.

"I miss you," I added, smiling sadly at her. Annabeth's eyes flashed, but she didn't say anything else. Instead, she simply watched as the IM dissolved, leaving me staring at a curtain of mist. I backpedaled through the water, not looking away from the waterfall until I hit the shore. Then, I turned around and walked away without a second glance.

I was reassured. Annabeth _was _worth fighting for.

… … … … … … …. …. … … … … … .. … .. …. … …

"Are you ready, Perseus?" KaRino hissed in her feline voice. It was two thirty that afternoon, and I felt almost fully rejuvenated from my power splurge yesterday.

"Yes," I replied, holding Riptide at the ready. Without another word, KaRino sprang at me, hissing wildly. I saw the look in her eyes for a second; she was no longer the friendly monster that had killed Trest for me yesterday. KaRino was deadly serious, ready to win this battle. I didn't have anymore time to think though, because she was on me in a flash.

KaRino swiped at me with her claws, and I deflected them with Riptide. There was a sound of metal on metal as the weapons clanged, and I grimaced. Of course her claws had to be metal. _Of course._ They were probably special celestial bronze claws, too, if they killed Trest. _Maybe they're poison-tipped, also_, a sarcastic part of me suggested. _Ooh, and they shoot fire when she's angry._

I think the stupidest things under pressure. Must be the ADHD part of me.

KaRino gave me no more time to think after that. I spent all my time deflecting her metal claws, and dodging the tentacles that kept flowing towards me. Taking a chance, I ignored her claws for a moment and slashed off four of the tentacles. KaRino hissed in rage and pain, momentarily stopping her deluge of swipes with those deadly claws. I took the opportunity to slash off the other four, mentally wincing as they writhed on the ground like cut-off snakes. KaRino was howling in pain now, but she refused to stop fighting. Instead, she resumed the onslaught of claw-swipes, managing to bat me off my feet with one immensely strong paw. I flew backwards and landed on the ground with a thump. Riptide clattered out of my hand beside me, and I frantically reached for it. KaRino leaped over to where I sat, landing with two paws on top of my sword. She hissed evilly as she reached to swipe her claws over my throat. I had to think fast if I didn't want to die with a cut to the jugular.

KaRino was too heavy to move off my sword by myself, so instead of trying to pull it free, I let my body go on autopilot. Somehow, I managed to catch KaRino's paw before her claws hit my throat. Her slitted green eyes widened in surprise, and she tried to yank her paw out of my grasp. Instead, I forced her claws down across her other wrist, slicing through her entire left paw. Blood welled from the stump of her arm as the paw fell to the ground. The claws didn't retract back into the severed paw, giving me a weapon.

Huh. My body thinks well when I let it do its own thing.

I quickly grabbed the paw off the ground while KaRino stared at her arm stump, momentarily shocked. "Sorry KaRino," I muttered, taking her surprise as a weapon against her. I jumped up, slashing her severed paw across her throat, just like she had planned to do to me.

I was right. The claws _were _celestial bronze, because with a surprised gurgle, Karino sank to the ground and died at my feet. I stood over her, gasping for breath. My adrenaline rush was gone, and now I felt bad. I had cut KaRino to pieces, then killed her with her own claws. Looking over the mess of severed tentacles, and the bloody paw in my hand, I felt my stomach start to protest. Dropping the paw, I raced to the side of the clearing and rid myself of my light lunch. Soon, a rough paw was tapping my back, claws thankfully retracted, and I looked up to see Frio standing over me. "Well fought, young hero," he said gently. "Although we could have done without the finale," he added, gesturing to the vomit in the bushes. I grimaced at him, wiping my mouth.

"Gee, thanks," I muttered, turning back to the battle scene. KaRino lay limply on the ground, and her severed tentacles had thankfully stopped squirming around. Trest regretfully picked each tentacle up, dropping them into a bag before placing the bag in the magic dishwasher/garbage can.

"That was clever," a familiar voice purred behind me. I whirled around to see KaRino reclining on a low tree branch on the edge of the clearing. "Using my own appendage to kill me. Ingenious."

"Thanks, KaRino," I murmured, thankful to see her regenerated again so soon. "Sorry about that."

"No grudges will be held," she assured me, leaping down from the branch and landing lightly on her feet in a very catlike way. "That was some excellent fighting. But I think I scratched you."

Touching my face, I realized that KaRino _had _scratched me. Several times, apparently. I winced as my fingers came in contact with several bloody lines crisscrossing over my skin. I saw that my hands were covered in blood, too, from numerous scratches across them. I hadn't won without injury, like the last two fights, but at least I did win. KaRino was an amazing fighter.

I suddenly felt very drained. "I'm kinda, tired," I yawned, stumbling towards the mat where I slept. "Kinda… tired," I repeated, falling on the mat. KaRino and Frio exchanged an amused look.

"Why don't you sleep, young hero?" Frio suggested. I nodded, pulling the blanket over me. I was already half-asleep.

"Sleep well, young hero," Ruli murmured. I could see her crocodilian tail swish by my face, but I was too tired to be startled. I closed my eyes. The mat wasn't so hard anymore. In fact, it was deliciously comfortable.

The last thing I heard before I fell asleep was KaRino's contented purr. 

**Double update! Aren't I amazing? I updated so much this week! **happy dance** I guess spraining my ankle gets my writing juices flowing… XD**

**Sooo… As always, review please! Did you like how Percy offed KaRino? XD**

**~TMI~**


	11. A Case of The Monday Morning Blues

**Honestly, I hate this fic now.******

**It forces me to write the thing I hate writing; fight scenes. It irks me cause I can't think of a good plot twist. It's strangely difficult for me to write in Percy's POV. And people get impatient cause I never update.******

**If I was the type of Author to delete stories, this would be gone faster than you can say 'Chuck Norris'. But I'm not. In fact, I shudder at the very idea of deletion. So I'll try to finish this and get it out of my way quickly. Sorry to those who like this: I despise ****  
****it.******

**Now, after that satisfyingly and refreshingly whiney rant, let's continue! =D**

PPOV

I really hate Mondays. I honestly do. It's not abnormal; a lot of people hate Mondays. And it's not strange that I despise them with all of my being and soul and beyond, because of my many horrible school experiences. Monday just makes me want to retch, especially Monday morning.

After all, it's always on Monday morning when your bed is the softest, warmest, most amazing thing ever. And what do you have to do? Get your lazy butt out of it and hightail to school, praying you're not tardy again.

Except, for me, this despicable Monday morning I had to fight a supernatural crocodile-elephant hybrid monster by the name of Ruliliante (Ruli for short).

I knew that Ruli was a force to be reckoned with. Every sight of her formiddable crocodile jaws with their rows upon rows of gleaming fangs made me flinch involuntarily. I could all too clearly imagine those teeth sinking into my flesh. The picture of my own defeat was clear in my mind's eye. Ruli, her teeth bloody and gruesome, standing over my mangled corpse and trumpeting a triumphant victory cry.

Well, maybe Frio would mourn for me.

See, this is what I mean about Mondays. Groaning, I rolled over on my mat and pulled the thin blanket over my head. Even though my eyes were screwed tightly shut, I could still picture the scene of my defeat. I would never see Annabeth again. I would never talk to Grover, or the Stoll brothers, or Chiron. Even the thought of never seeing Mr D again made me sad.

That was my first clue that I was deeply sunk in a horrible case of Monday morning blues. I got like this sometimes on Mondays, inexplicably depressed. If I was sad about the thought of never hearing another 'Peter Johnson' cross Mr D's lips, then this was serious. I needed some chocolate, pronto.

Unfortunately, as heavenly as the isle of Corinthos was, it did not serve chocolate for breakfast. I sighed, the sound drenched in unhappiness. Frio and KaRino, who were sitting at the picnic table with a few other monsters, looked up at me in alarm. "Are you alright, young hero?" Trest asked, actually sounding concerned.

I shook my head wordlessly, not even bothering to marvel that Trest had spoken politely to me for the first time since our fight. I absentmindedly rubbed a scabbing cut on my left cheek. It was a souvenir from my battle with KaRino yesterday, along with several other painful reminders on my hands and neck. KaRino was very clever  
with her claws, and I had some deep marks to prove it. For all I know, I might suddenly drop dead from infection of claw wounds. I should write out my will before I do anything else-

I took a deep breath, attempting to calm myself down. I seriously needed to ditch the depression weighing me down. I felt far too pessimistic than what could be considered healthy. "I'm gonna go to that pool again," I said aloud to no one in particular. KaRino lashed her tail in acknowledgement, but no one else said anything as I headed towards the forest.

"Young Perseus." Ruli's raspy, hushed voice stopped me in my emo tracks. "When you return, we shall battle."

"Sure," I replied casually, trying to banish the image of my bloody corpse from my head. "See you then."

I made my way slowly and somberly through the forest, my spirits low and my optimism nonexistent. I wondered how long I would get by on sheer luck. Frio had accidentally let slip earlier that I was the youngest challenger they had ever seen. Most of Eros' victims were apparently age eighteen to age thirty. And here I was, fourteen years old and raring to go.

Annabeth better appreciate this.

I sighed again at the thought of Annabeth. She was far away, oceans away, in a different country on a different continent. Who knows if I would ever see her again? I had to fight three more monsters before I even had a chance to get her to like me again, and there was always the chance one of them would kill me. I had already defeated Frio, Trest, and KaRino, that was true. However, I still had to battle Ruli today, on the worst day of the week. After that I had to face a lynx-eel hybrid named Klianstyl, and her brother, a bobcat-scorpion named Enrystyl. Klian and Enry were slightly strange, but then again, as I had to keep reminding myself, they were monsters. And Klian was utter perfection when it came to Limbo. As I have said before, great Limbo masters are often great fighters. Enry was more of a mango juice fanatic than his sister, though. He hung out with Ruli by the picnic table at most of the luaus we had had over the past few days, not saying  
much to anyone but her. However, despite his evident non-interest in Limbo, I had witnessed the awe inspiring strength Enry possessed multiple times during my stay on Corinthos. My fights with both siblings and Ruli did not bode well.

Finally, I reached the pool. With yet another sigh, I sank into the cool depths, conpletely submerging and falling lightly to the bottom. My worries and pessimism slipped away like a cloud on a windy day, leaving me feeling peaceful and soothed. I was strong. I could hold my own in a battle against Ruli, Klian, or Enry. And I had plenty  
of motivation to win, also. I was doing this for Annabeth, and to rub it in Eros' face that his little trick didn't work. That was all I had to remember. I breathed deeply in and out, watching bubbles whoosh from my nose and sidle up to the surface of the pool.

Water is such a great comforter. It made me feel completely better, andi was now officially over my Monday morning blues. I could take on a thousand Rulis now. I was ready.

As an added healing bonus from the water, the claw wounds i had received from KaRino had all healed up. However, for whatever reason, the water didn't take away any scarring like it usually did. I could feel the faint ridge raised on my left cheek from the scab I had been rubbing this morning, and my hands were now crisscrossed with slight marks that looked like tanner lines on my skin.

I assume it was like another trophy, like the ones stored in my metal box. I had a feeling those scars wouldn't ever go away.

Whatever.

Propelling myself straight up from the sandy bottom of the pool, I trudged through the shallow water sloshing around my ankles and stepped onto dry land. I uncapped Riptide, watching impassively as it elongated into the glittering bronze sword form. I hefted the sword in my hand and started back towards camp, a slight smile playing on my lips.

Showtime.

o.O.o:O:o.O.o

I had barely stepped into camp when Ruli stood up from the picnic table, her many rows of teeth glittering dangerously. "Are you ready, young hero?" she asked, her long crocodile tail swishing impatiently behind her. I simply nodded, and Ruli's eyes glinted. "Let us begin."

All the monsters in the camp cleared out around the perimeter to watch the fight. I didn't glance at them, though. My eyes were riveted on Ruli. She swayed rhythmically in her stance, black crocodile eyes trained solely on me. However, she didn't move.

It took a moment for it to occur to me that, unlike any of the other monsters I had faced, Ruli was waiting for me to act first. Once I realized this, however, I stayed still, my fingers clenching tighter on Riptide's hilt. Ruli's reptillian gaze was cold and narrow, and her only movement was the slow flapping of her elephant ears. We stood facing each other, motionless, for a long time. I wasn't sure exactly how long, but it felt like eternity.

Finally, I realized that Ruli was fully capable of outwaiting me. I was getting antsier and antsier, while Ruli still looked like the epitome of calm. It was time to strike. Without anwarning, I lunged towards the monster and swung Riptide in a flashing bronze arc towards her head.

Lightning fast, Ruli sidestepped my sword thrust and whipped her tail towards me. The long, scaly crocodile tail was hard and spiny as it tripped me, causing me to fall backwards on my butt. Ruli sank to all fours and leaped at me while I was on the ground, and I rolled to the side, carefully pulling Riptide in so its blade wouldn't slice me by accident.

Ruli kept coming after me, lashing her tail at my feet and snapping her lethal jaws near my face. Calculating her moves as fast as I could, I jumped to my feet and twirled Riptide's glinting bronze blade towards Ruli's heart. She blocked my sword's path, however, with her long, green-gray muzzle. My blade slashed the surface of her skin, but bounced off almost immediately. Ruli's eyes darkened aw she raised a claw to her face and caught some of the green blood dripping off. "Congratulations, young hero," she hissed, circling around me. I turned with her, keeping my body facing her. "You have managed to land a hit on me. It will not happen again." With that, Ruli lungedfanged  
jaws snapping and her claws extended, at a much swifter speed than before. I ducked and rolled away, stirring up the dirt even more. The majority of the sandy grit previously covering the floor was now swirling in the hazy air, impairing my vision and making me squint. Ruli didn't seem to be having a problem with the dust, though. "Crocodiles have a protective eyelid for swimming, young Perseus. It serves me well right now," Ruli said casually, as if she had read my mind.

"How useful," I managed to say as I barely avoided her swinging tail for the fifteenth time. Ruli simply laughed.

What happened next was so painful that it brought real tears to my annoyingly dry, sandy eyes. Ruli swiped at me with her tail, and I lashed Riptide towards the crocodilian weapon, hoping to bring it out of play. Before I knew it, Ruli's jaws had closed around my sword arm, and pain erupted all through the appendage as Riptide clattered out of my shocked fingers and hit the ground.

Ruli's teeth were just as sharp as I had imagined them to be as they sank further and further into my arm. It took all my willpower to scream. Instead, I fell to the ground, groping around one handed for Riptide. I was half blinded by the pain in my arm, and another quarter blinded by the grit swirling through the air. These combined severely impaired my vision. I was so muddled by the pain coursing through my sword arm that I almost didn't realize when the fingers of my left hand brushed against Riptide's hilt. I grabbed for it, and slid my fingers awkwardly around the grip. This hand wasn't used to holding my sword, and I felt very strange fighting left-handed.

My right arm was still trapped in Ruli's powerful jaws, and I could feel the blood running down my shoulder and soaking my shirt. As well as I could manage with my left hand, I slashed across Ruli's muzzle repeatedly, drawing more and more of the green blood. However, Ruli didn't seem to notice, and had jaws didn't loosen on my limp right arm.

Finally, I poked Riptide awkwardly at the hinges of her jaws, twisting the point of my blade into the muscles. Ruli's mouth instantly popped open, allowing my bloodied arm to fall uselessly and painfully against my side. Ruli swiped a scaly arm across her snout, wiping away some of the blood caused by my random hits with Riptide. I tried to move my sword arm, and almost fainted from the pain.

That would have sucked.

Swearing mentally, I tightened my grip on Riptide's hilt, attempting to get a comfortable hold on my sword. I cursed myself again for not learning how to fight effectively with both of my hands. Meanwhile, Ruli advanced towards me again, and my brain flurried with ideas on how not to die in this sticky situation. My throbbing arm was kinda distracting, however, and I couldn't think of anything that would work.

I couldn't win this battle with my sword arm half-bitten off.

Percy... Think...

I blinked at the serenity of the voice floating through my head. The calm, levelheaded tone it possessed immediately made me realize it couldn't possibly be just me talking to myself. The voice was cool and peaceful, washing over me like water...

Water! That was it! As soon as the thought came to me, Ruli had lunged for my other arm, apparently wishing to cripple me completely so I couldn't use my sword.

I danced quickly out of the way of her open maw, twirling  
Riptide's point in a sharp circle across the roof of her very terrifying mouth. Ruli roared, and withdrew briefly. Without a second thought, I sprinted out of the clearing and ran towards the pond.

Ruli was apparently surprised by my actions, because it took her a second to realize I had left. Then, she was after me again. I could hear her crocodile tail crashing into things as she pursued me. My legs moved faster as I picked up the pace, trying desperately not to jiggle my limp sword arm too much. As it was, half of my vision was whited out with pain.

All in all, I was pretty lucky I even made it to the pond. My knees felt weak as I dragged my aching body to the water's edge. Only the sound of Ruli trampling the undergrowth behind me gave me the strength to pull myself forward and plunge into the water.

The relief was instant: the fiery pain in my sword arm subsided, replaced with a gentle tingle. Any weariness I had from the battle flowed away in a silken ribbon. I could see perfectly well again, and before my eyes the bite on my arm was closing up.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love water?

"Thank you, Father," I murmured, my voice bubbling out into the water. As if in reply, a current appeared out of nowhere, brushing past my shoulder. I smiled.

Then, out of nowhere, I spotted a crocodile tail whipping through the water. The smile vanished from my face. Ruli had followed me into the pond.

This made sense, actually. She was part crocodile, after all. I gritted my teeth and switched Riptide back to its proper place in my right hand.

Thankfully, my sword arm was now completely healed, with only a faint tattoo of scar lines showing where Ruli had bitten. I tested out the mobility of my newly healed arm by slashing it through the water and clipping Ruli's snout as she rushed me in an underwater charge.

Ruli recoiled from the blow, and set to charge again. Her tail was lashing the water into a bubbly froth behind her, stirring it up with more force than the small waterfall that fed the pool. I was apparently not the only one energized by the water. Ruli seemed refreshed, although her cuts hadn't healed like mine had. At least I still had that advantage.

We battled for who knows how long in the pool, the water frothing and churning as we dove and struck at each other. Thanks to the water, neither of us got tired. However, part of my mind was starting to get bored of the endless fighting, and I found myself getting distracted by a tiny fish darting past. I hadn't noticed any fish in the pool any other time I had visited-

Ruli's teeth scraped my sword arm yet again, jarring me out of my thoughts. Swearing heavily, I backpedaled through a sheath of bubbles, hiding inside to recover for a moment.

My sword arm was now completely criss-crossed with lines of teeth marks from Ruli, and none of them would heal completely. They all left white lines of scarring, which was highly unusual for me.

I had to end this now. After all, it was getting a bit boring.

Suddenly, I rocketed out of my hiding spot amid the bubbles, and slammed head on into a very surprised Ruli. My right arm, of course, had to land directly in her open mouth. She chomped down on my wriggling sword arm, wrapping her tail around my body so I couldn't escape.

My weapon was stuck, and I was trapped.

Or so you might think.

Trying to ignore the pain tearing through my head like Clarisse's electric spear, I closed my eyes and concentrated. Please work, I thought, swirling my left arm up through the water

Something tugged in my gut, and the water started shifting around us. Ruli didn't appear to notice, but I watched as the whirlpool began. It was agonizingly slow at first, but finally, the swirling water sped up and sent us spinning rapidly around in circles.

The whirlpool tactics. Perfect distraction with just a few waves of the arm.

Ruli still had her jaws clamped on my arm, and her tail hadn't yet been pried away from me by the harsh currents. I was the only still point in the whirlpool, the calm at the eye of the hurricane. I felt nothing more than a soft swirl of water brushing by me, whereas Ruli looked like she was caught in an underwater tornado.

I hammered at her mouth with my left fist, trying to get it to open. Ruli was firmly attached, though, and she had obviously realized I was the only anchorage she could get in the whirlpool. I tightened my grip on Riptide's hilt and continued to beat at her jaws.

Finally, I found the sweet spot at the hinge of her jaws, and they popped open like they were on springs. Ruli's tail tightened around my legs, and she lashed her long snout around, snapping her jaws and trying to bite another part of me.

With a calm I normally never possess, I angled Riptide at the most precise point I could manage with Ruli flailing about like she was. Then, as Ruli opened her mouth to crunch down on me again, I thrust my arm directly into her mouth, all the way up to my shoulder. She looked surprised for a moment, before Riptide's point pierced the back of her throat. Ruli's jaws stiffened around my arm, then relaxed, floating open. Her tail stayed clenched around me in her final death grip, though, and her body was pulling me to the bottom of the pool with its dead weight.

I breathed out forcefully in a long stream of bubbles, and suddenly, as if on command, the whirlpool halted. "Thank you, Father," I whispered again, watching the bubbles holding my words speed out of my mouth.

It took me a moment to uncurl Ruli's stiffened tail, gently easing it off my legs. I tried not to look at her glazed eyes, or the blood spurting out the back of her neck and mixing with the water. Carefully, I pried one of the loosened teeth out of her lower jaw, and her body vanished in a swirl of bubbles. All that was left was a few more teeth spiraling down to the bed of the pool. I caught them in my free hand, and tucked them into my pocket.

Ruli was defeated.

Feeling exhausted, I swam slowly up to the surface again. As my head breached the choppy water, I heard Frio's voice. "There he is!" Frio called happily, apparently spotting me with his eagle eyesight.

"It seems young Perseus has prevailed," KaRino purred, smiling her feline smile at me.

I nodded wearily as I stepped onto dry land again. My energy deserted me suddenly as I left the water, and I almost collapsed. "Ruli's a good fighter," I rasped, carefully holding her teeth so they wouldn't cut into my hand.

"As are you, Perseus Jackson," Ruli rumbled, appearing suddenly on the banks of the pool. "You fought well."

"Thank you," I managed to say. "Can we go back now?"

Frio laughed. "It doesn't look like you'll make it back to the camp," he observed.

"Allow me," KaRino offered, lowering her back.

"Thank you," I mumbled sleepily, stumbling over and carefully mounting KaRino's sleek back, just above where her tentacles sprouted from her waist. KaRino rose to her feet again, and I held onto the scruff of her neck as she started back towards camp.

I was so tired out by the battle that I barely noticed the ride back. After what seemed like a long time, KaRino tipped me off her back and onto my mat. I immediately fell asleep, exhausted by the combination of a long, difficult battle and the creation of that whirlpool.

The last thought in my mind was that I still had to fight Klian tomorrow, and Enry day after that.

Crap.  
**  
****Kay then, there's a chapter. The next one will probably take awhile, I'm sorry!******

**Hope you enjoyed!****  
**  
**~TMI~**


	12. The Results of a Cat Fight

**Oh goody, the story I hate writing! lol, I'm mostly kidding, but still... I just have a strong dislike for abandoning stories. -shrug- Whatevaz. Just read the damn chapter already!**

**Dedicated to Gamsky, for reminding me to update. =P BTW, a beta would not help me, since the problem I have is actually finding time to _write_, not editing. Thanks anyway though. =)**

APOV

I lay on the cot in the infirmary, gazing up at the white ceiling above my head. My left arm was heavily swathed with bloodstained white cloth, along with my bandaged abdomen and right thigh. In addition to these covered wounds, I sported a Tweety Bird band aid on my right cheek, another on my chin, and one last one above my left eyebrow.

To state the obvious, I was kinda torn up.

I don't know what I was thinking, challenging Clarisse to a fight when she was obviously already furious and in possession of a sword, whereas I only had a knife in hand. To my credit, though, Clarisse was sound asleep in the cot across the room from me, both hands heavily bandaged and more white cloth binding her upper arms and shoulders. As one might deduce from her wounds, I had been trying to take Clarisse's arms out of commission in order to win the fight.

As one also might realize from my own sliced-up state, this method had not proven very successful.

"Give it up, Annabeth," Clarisse snarled, blood soaking through the sleeves of her jacket and spurting from her hands to spangle the dirt floor of the arena. "I have a sword, and I'm pissed off. You have a dagger, and you're just pathetically sad 'cause Travis Stoll of all people doesn't like you!"

My hand tightened on my knife, and I could feel more blood flowing from one of the gashes on my right arm in response to the movement. "Travis is none of your business!" I snapped back, lunging to slash her sword arm again.

Clarisse nimbly dodged my blow, but winced as she switched her sword from her wounded right hand to her equally bloody left. "He's none of your business either, Wise Girl," Clarisse bit out between gritted teeth. "I didn't think a stupid son of Aphrodite could make you forget ol' Seaweed-for-Brains. But you have proven me wrong with your idiocy."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I retorted, stepping back and deflecting Clarisse's sword with the edge of my knife. My arms moved more slowly than before though, and my fingers were slippery with blood. I had to hold onto my knife tightly so it wouldn't slide from my grasp. "Are you talking about Percy?"

Clarisse barked out a short laugh, her eyes wide with both disbelief and condecension. "And they say you're smart," she purred sarcastically. "No, I'm not talking about Percy. I mean the other son of Poseidon at camp- duh." She rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm talking about Percy, idiot! Your damn boyfriend!"

"Percy is not my boyfriend," I informed her, gasping in breaths of air between strikes. "I don't even like him as a friend, and I can't remember much about him anyway. He went off on some quest to get a medicene for me that I don't even need. Seems like a stupid guy to me."

Clarisse just laughed again. "I think he's stupid, but you're stupider for dating him, Wise Girl," she replied. "Just 'cause Eros nipped you doesn't mean you should let him affect you like that. You're just too weak, I guess. Pathetic."

I narrowed my eyes at her, trying again to slash at her hands. Clarisse simply parried away my knife and lunged back at me. I forced my legs to move me out of the way, but Clarisse was too quick with her sword. The blade bit deep into my thigh, red streams of blood instantly springing from the gash as she withdrew the sword. I could only gasp in pain as I fell to the ground, sliding onto my back and dropping my knife as I clutched my leg.

"See what I mean? You're weak," Clarisse spat down at me. "You can't defeat Eros, and you can't defeat me. You'd think that after surviving all you have, you'd be strong, but I guess you're just lucky, or maybe Percy is strong enough for both of you. Because you are pathetic," Clarisse hissed. I paid no attention to her words- my mind was racing in an attempt to find a way out of losing this battle. That's when I noticed -with no small satisfaction- that Clarisse was swaying on her feet. This was most likely an effect of the blood loss I had caused her.

So I wasn't a guaranteed loser of this battle- not yet.

And before Clarisse could say another word, I pulled my legs in, locked them together, and sprung feet-first at her. Clarisse's eyes widened, and she flashed out her sword to protect herself, but my combat boots just kicked the flat of the blade straight into her collar bone. This effectively cut up Clarisse's shoulders and knocked her flat on her back at the same time. She hit the ground hard and didn't stir again.

Unfortunately, I wasn't doing so well myself. That kick had thrown my right leg into a metaphorical bonfire, and I couldn't see because of the pain clouding my vision. Maybe donkey-kicking Clarisse wasn't the best idea right after she slashed my leg open… I mused. Note to self: for future reference, DON'T DO THIS EVER AGAIN. My body pulsed with fire, focusing in with white-hot liquid flame on every nick and gash Clarisse had scored on me.

And it was right around there when I blacked out.

I woke up in this cot, all neatly bandaged up and exceedingly achey everywhere. When I saw myself in a mirror, I almost fainted again at all of the wounds I was sporting. Clarisse had bashed me around pretty well with that pretty bronze blade of hers, but I took satisfaction in the fact that I had successfully returned the favor. Peeking out from the neckline of her shirt were the tips of two purple, boot-shaped bruises. If I matched them up with my own shoes, it would have been a Cinderella worthy fit. I smiled at the thought.

The smile pulled at the band aid on my cheek, painfully stretching the scarring cut underneath. I winced, instantly making my face fall back into a neutral expression. The pain stopped abruptly, and I moodily rubbed my cheek.

The world is a sad place when a simple action like smiling hurts.

"Annabeth?" someone asked tentatively. I opened my eyes, which had been previously shut in a weak attempt to rest, and looked up at my visitor.

"Hey Grover," I greeted him, managing a sort of half smile thing to spare my right cheek from repeating my prior smiling attempt. "What's up?"

"Well, you saw Travis making out with Katie Gardner, so you got ticked off and ran away, and the next time anyone sees you you're lying next to Clarisse in the sword arena, both of you knocked out and gushing blood!" Grover ranted. "What's wrong with you Annabeth?"

I scowled at him, ignoring the protest of the cuts on my face. "What's wrong with me?" I asked incredulously. "What's wrong with all of you guys? Why do you keep bugging me about Percy? Why is he on a solo quest? And why won't anyone explain why every single person in the freaking camp disapproves of me liking Travis?" I demanded. I could feel a slight blush tinge my cheeks at my last question, but ignored it as I glared defiantly at Grover. I needed my questions answered. Now.

Grover shifted uneasily, avoiding all eye contact with me. He stared at the roll of bandaging on my bedside table instead as he spoke. "Chiron says we aren't allowed to talk about Percy's quest," he hedged evasively. "But Annabeth, we all know that you shouldn't be liking Travis as any more than a friend. That's why we disapprove."

"Why shouldn't I like Travis?" I persisted, sitting up in my bed. "What's wrong with that? Plenty of girls like him!" Like Katie Gardner, my treacherous mind piped up.

"You're Percy's girlfriend, Annabeth!" Grover blurted out, unable to take this any longer. "Percy loves you! You love Percy! He went on that quest because he loves you!"

I stared at Grover. "That's not true," I declared firmly. "I don't even remember ever being friends with Percy. How could I be his girlfriend?"

"You are!" Grover wailed, obviously distressed. "You've been dating him for months!"

My brows furrowed, and I started to seriously consider Grover's mental health. There was something wrong with him, if he was so convinced that I was in love with Percy. "Grover, maybe you should be the one in the infirmary," I told him seriously. "I'm just messed up physically. At least I can get my facts straight."

Grover threw up his hands in frustration, then turned and left the infirmary without a second word in reply.

I looked after him for a moment, then shrugged. It was his fault if he wanted to live in denial.

"Hey Annabeth?"

I took my eyes off the spot where Grover had burst out the infirmary doors, turning to look up at the speaker. It a son of Apollo standing by my bed, looking at me carefully. "We've done all of the healing we can for now," he explained, "so just rest for today and tomorrow we'll send you back out on crutches, okay?"

"Sounds good," I replied, settling back among my pillows. "And Clarisse?"

The Apollo kid grimaced. "Clarisse punched Laurana," he nodded towards a blonde girl bandaging someone's wrist on the other side of the infirmary, "when she tried to heal her, so we're just letting Clarisse recuperate the old fashioned way," he confided to me.

I grinned. "That's fine by me," I assured him. "Clarisse can deal with some knife cuts on her arms and a bruised chest. I, on the other hand, have to go on crutches for…" I raised an eyebrow at the Apollo kid. "How long?"

He shrugged. "Two, three weeks?" he suggested. "If it was a bone we could heal it faster, but since your lovely friend hit the muscle and artery, it will take a hell of a lot longer to recover fully."

I nodded at this information. That seemed reasonable enough to me. "Okay, I guess I can deal with that," I sighed, closing my eyes and relaxing into the pillows stacked around my shoulders.

"Sleeping will help you recover faster," he added. "So get as much rest as you can, okay?"

"Thanks, James," I mumbled, already half-asleep. I was tired, okay? Major blood loss is kind of exhausting on the body.

James started. "You know my name?" he asked, sounding curious. "How do you remember me out of so many others? I've never even spoken to you before."

I smiled slightly. "I didn't know," I replied, drifting off even as I spoke. "I've been calling you 'the Apollo kid' in my mind this whole time. I just guessed your name was James."

James snorted, and I let out a sleepy laugh. "Damn you Athena kids," he muttered. "You're all too smart for your own good."

"Got that right, Buster," I yawned, snuggling deeper into my pillows. And just like that, I was asleep.

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU SHOT ANNABETH CHASE WITH ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR ARROWS?" a furious, yet beautiful voice thundered. I cringed slightly. That lady sounded pissed off.

I pitied whoever was the poor sucker who had ticked her off in the first place.

"Mother, I was just-" a deeper, whiny voice tried to interrupt.

"NO EXCUSES!" the lady shrieked, cutting the man off mid-sentence. "I LET YOU OFF THE HOOK THE FIRST TIME BECAUSE PERCY IS SO CUTE WHEN HES ALL WORRIED ABOUT HIS GIRLFRIEND, BUT THIS IS TOO FAR! I HATE ANNABETH AND TRAVIS SHIPPING! HATE! IT!"

"I know, Mother, I didn't expect her to see Travis Stoll first-"

"BUT SHE DID!"

"Calm down-"

"CALM DOWN? CALM DOWN? Zeus said that Percy isn't even supposed to succeed in his quest, and Annabeth is half DEAD in the camp infirmary! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, AND YOU HAVE THE SASS TO TELL YOUR MOTHER TO CALM DOWN?" Wait, what? What did this lady know about Percy's quest? And I was half-dead? I guessed she was right, considering the severe blood loss I was suffering from, courtesy of Clarisse.

Well now that I thought about it, that kind of sucked.

"Well, at least this got Katie Gardner and Travis Stoll together finally," the male voice pointed out soothingly. Now that I thought about it, he sounded vaguely familiar. Where had I heard that voice before?

"Well, that's true." The lady sounded somewhat mollified. "BUT YOU STILL RUINED MY FAVORITE PAIRING! Percabeth is so cute! AND YOU OBLITERATED IT WITH YOUR DAMN ARROWS!"

Okay, so maybe not mollified.

"Mother, I promise I will get them back together," the man assured her. "I just wanted to see how strong my arrows were on people that were actually in love."

"Well, now you know," the lady snipped back, still sounding miffed. "You are forbidden to use your arrows unless I say so for a whole century!"

"What? Motherrrr..." the man whined.

"_NO BUTS!_" the lady boomed, her voice suddenly sounding as if it could shake Mount Everest from its anchoring. "You are grounded, Eros!"

The dream started to fade, but not before I could feel a jolt of panic in my stomach. Eros? That was Aphrodite's son, so...

Crap. I had just eavesdropped on a goddess grounding her son. But more importantly, why did Eros sound so familiar? I hadn't met that god before...

Had I?

**ATTENTION! IMPORTANTE!**

**Okay, so I got a ton of angry responses yelling at me to update, which I know I totally deserve. =/ I'm sorry, but this story is really not my first priority, and I have a ton of work and activities and school and homework and crap to deal with outside of Fanfiction. Also, I made it into an all-state band where over 1600 people auditioned to get in, so I'm pretty focused on that right now. =) I haven't updated some stories in MONTHS though, and I am truly sorry for that. I'll strive to finish this story as quickly and well as possible, but please bear with me as I struggle through this maddening thing called Life.**

**Thank you so much for all of your support, and as always, please review! What did you think of Eros' and Aphrodite's argument?**

**~TMI~**


	13. Eros Pays a Visit

**It didn't take me five months to update this time! Aren't you all so happy? XP**

**PPOV**

"My lord Zeus, I beg of you to please allow Perseus Jackson to succeed in his quest to find the fountain of Corinthos."

I looked around, only to find myself looking down on the throne room of Mount Olympus. All of the thrones were empty except for Zeus', which was occupied by none other than the king of the gods himself.

Zeus looked rather annoyed, to put it lightly. Tiny lightning bolts were crackling restlessly through his beard, and his eyebrows were furrowed together. "Aphrodite, you want me to let Percy Jackson succeed on his quest again?" he asked, sounding slightly incredulous at the very idea.

For the first time, I noticed Aphrodite was also in the throne room. She was kneeling in front of Zeus, clad in a white flowing gown with a slender wreath of calla lilies woven into her hair. "My lord, I wish it to be so," Aphrodite replied earnestly, clasping her hands together. "Please let him succeed, I beg of you."

Zeus' eyebrows shot up, and he looked confused. More miniature lightning zapped through his beard as he gave Aphrodite a suspicious look. "Why do you want that impudent boy to finish his quest so much?" Zeus asked bluntly. "He's already completed far too many in so short a time without failure— it isn't healthy to let him think that he's invincible."

"Well, he did bathe in the River Styx, so technically he is invincible…" Aphrodite murmured, sounding almost apologetic.

"Silence, Aphrodite," Zeus commanded irritably. "You know what I mean."

"Yes my lord," Aphrodite agreed meekly.

This was so out of character for the goddess that it wasn't even funny. Why was Aphrodite being so docile all of a sudden? She usually always had to get her way.

"My lord, it's just that Percy is on a quest concerning true love, which is my field of expertise as you know," Aphrodite continued, looking innocently up at Zeus. "And I just wanted to help him a little teensy bit."

Oh. That was why she was acting this way. Aphrodite was feeling guilty about her son screwing with Annabeth's head.

Damn straight.

"He's already defeated eight of the ten monsters," Zeus grumbled. "I don't see why you would feel the need to help him at all. And I have decided he needs to fail a quest, to poke a hole in that overinflated hero's ego he has acquired."

Aphrodite looked alarmed. "But sire, not this quest!" she cried. "If he doesn't succeed, he loses his true love forever!"

"Well, that was your son's fault to begin with, Aphrodite," Zeus snapped back. "I forbid you from interfering with Percy Jackson's quest. You may not help him."

Aphrodite bowed her head dejectedly. "Yes my lord," she whispered.

I sat bolt upright on my mat, instantly awake. "You have got to be kidding me," I groaned out loud, running my hands through my hair. I had gone through all of this crap, gotten sliced up by four different monsters in that many days, and now I didn't even get to succeed no matter what? After my box of trophies, my fights with all of the fountain's guardians, and the wounds that refused to fade even after they were fully healed? After Annabeth hated me and loved Travis Stoll?

I don't know about you, but that kinda pissed me off.

"I can't believe this," I muttered, flopping back down on my mat. "Gods suck."

There was a warning rumble of thunder in the distance for my rebellious insult, but I paid it no attention. I was not in the mood to apologize right now.

"Why does my life suck so much?" I muttered. My voice was mostly muffled, due to the fact my face was buried in the mat, so I wasn't expecting an answer.

But it was still an answer that I got.

"Heroes always have hard lives, Percy," a quiet voice replied. I sprang upright again, staring around wildly for the source of the voice. The monsters didn't have much in the way of security measures, since they were- well, monsters. They were monsters on a magic island who could regenerate in ten minutes if killed. They were perfectly safe without so much as a picket fence.

I, on the other hand, had only one life to play with. I prefered to die on Corinthos killed by something that was actually related to my doomed quest, not by some random midnight intruder.

Wow. That was a depressing sentence.

I shook myself out of my thoughts, focusing instead on finding the speaker. It wasn't any of the monsters: Frio and Trest and Enry spoke in deeper, more gravelly tones, while KaRino had her feline purr, Ruli a lower, clearer sound, and Klian a distinctive, slippery drawl. This guy's voice —it was obviously a dude speaking— was musical, charming, grand, and hinting at a handsome visage, all at once.

So of course, I immediately knew it was Eros.

Without thinking, I flung myself from the mat and rolled into an attacking position, Riptide somehow unsheathed into sword form as I glared at the god. "What do you want?" I growled.

Eros lolled against a tree at the edge of the forest, seemingly unconcerned with the sword in my hand or the anger in my voice. "Whoa there, tiger," he drawled. "I'm here to help your sorry mortal ass, so don't go trying to attack me with that pretty little blade."

I narrow my eyes at the god as I processed this, refusing to lower Riptide even a fraction of a centimeter. "You sent me on the damn quest to begin with by shooting Annabeth," I pointed out. "Why would you want to help me?"

Eros grinned lazily, picking himself up off the tree and walking towards me. The two quivers were still strapped to his back, black and red feathers poking over the top of his right shoulder. His bow was nowhere to be seen, but I assumed that he didn't particularly need it right now. Or maybe he could do that nifty trick like Artemis' Hunters, where their bows materialized in their hands whenever they wanted them.

But I was getting off topic.

Eros gave me an appraising look. "I am aware of what I did," he replied finally. "It was foolish of me to toy with my mother's favorite couple, but I didn't really think it through."

Now I was surprised. A god was admitting he had been wrong? Mount Olympus must be imploding as we speak.

"Well, I can agree with you there at least," I muttered. "But why are you here now? Are you going to reverse the whole Annabeth-hating-me deal?" a bubble of hope blossomed in my chest- could I go home today, without having to fight Klian or Enry? I lowered Riptide, letting the blade dangle at my side.

Eros shifted slightly, looking almost uncomfortable. "I can't exactly do that," he murmured awkwardly.

"Why not?" I demanded, anger instantly fizzing through my veins again. "You have those arrows of love, right? Just use one to reverse the indifference arrow you shot Annabeth with!"

Eros raised an eyebrow at me, looking disdainful. "You think love is that easy, Percy Jackson? An arrow or two and you're back to normal?" he retorted. "No, I can't just shoot Annabeth again."

"Why not?" I asked desperately. "Why wouldn't it work?"

Wow. I never thought the day would come when I would be begging a god to shoot my girlfriend.

"My arrows imitate love, but really they're more closely related to infatuation," Eros explained, tapping the end of one of the arrows in his red quiver. "When I shot Annabeth and she fell in love with Travis, she wasn't really in love with him— she was just obsessed. The whole time she's been consciously thinking she likes Travis, but underneath it all she's still in love with you." Eros glanced wistfully towards the food table. "Is there still food over there?" he asked. "I'm starving."

"Go ahead," I murmured, slightly in shock at this whole revelation. "So your arrows don't actually make people fall in and out of love, they just mask the real feelings they have and put a fake set in their place?" I watched as Eros grabbed a slice of pineapple pizza and poured himself some mango juice.

The god shook his head. "No, it doesn't work like that," he disagreed, his mouth full of pizza. Somehow, Eros managed to still look perfectly acceptable, even charming, with his face stuffed with food. I guess it was just a perk of his job.

"Then what exactly _do_ your arrows do?" I demanded, throwing my hands up in exasperation. Would it kill someone to give me a straight answer for once?

"My arrows imitate love and indifference at first, but the longer the effects settle, the more profound the feelings get," Eros explained. "That's why you only have ten days to complete the quest. After that long, the arrows' effects become irreversible."

Well, at least that explained the time limit. It had kind of been bothering me that I suddenly had a specific set of rules for a quest. I don't do well with rules. "I still don't understand why you can't just shoot Annabeth with an arrow of love instead of making me do the whole preordained-to-fail quest deal," I remarked. "It doesn't make sense."

"It makes perfect sense," Eros argued thickly through a mouthful of pizza. He raised an eyebrow at me, looking balefully over to where I stood. "You're just ignorant."

"Then enlighten me," I snapped. "I thought you said you were going to help?"

"Well, Zeus forbade my mother from helping you, so she ordered me to help you instead," Eros replied, finishing his pizza slice and washing it down with his mango juice. "I don't really want to be here. There's a couple of kids in New Jersey who really need to get together, and I need to work on them. But she's kind of annoyed with me for starting this whole shebang in the first place, so I had to obey." Eros shrugged, looking completely disinterested in the topic at hand.

"Just answer my question," I sighed. I followed Eros to the food table and poured myself a glass of juice too. He was making me hungry, standing there and eating all of the food in front of me.

"I already told you that my arrows just imitate love, and really are just extreme infatuation," Eros started, setting down his glass for a moment. "So if I shot Annabeth with a love arrow and set you up to be the first person she sees, she won't really love you again— it would all be fake. I doubt you want that."

"No," I whispered, staring down into my juice. "I would hate that."

"Exactly." Eros waved his second slice of pizza for emphasis. "So I'm basically here just to give you advice on how to succeed on your quest."

"I thought Zeus said I had to fail," I observed, raising my eyebrow at Eros.

He grinned suddenly, those Crest Whitening Strip teeth almost blinding me in the process. "Percy, I'm all about defying authority. The best love stories come about that way," Eros informed me gleefully. "Zeus forbidding success just makes it so much more tantalizing of a goal."

I grinned back at Eros. "Maybe you aren't so bad after all," I remarked after a moment.

Eros snorted, draining his juice and giving me a 'duh' look. "Of course I'm not bad. I'm ridiculously perfect," he scoffed. "Now let's get to work, shall we? You're fighting Enrystyl tomorrow, right? So what you've got to do is…"

And that's how the god of love became my strategist.

Hold on Annabeth, I'm coming.

**This was a really quick update. Don't get used to it. =P I'm probably going to go back eventually and revise a couple chapters, because I started this story at the beginning of my fanfiction career, and frankly— the beginning kinda sucks. =D so anyway, what didja think?**

**Review please! =) I'll try to update as quickly as I can, but remember I have over ten other stories I've been neglecting as well!**

**~TMI~**


	14. Coached on Fighting by the God of Love

**Dedicated to Bobby for his birthday (: I updated, are you happy?**

"You're fighting Enry today," Eros stated, looking somewhat bored as he flicked the steel gray fringe at the edge of his indifference quiver. "He's a tough one. Strengths lie in his agility and endurance, he's got bobcat quickness and that delightful scorpion armor and poison. You'll have fun trying to make a dent in that plated stuff with that dinky little sword. Aim for the fur."

I bristled at his dismissive remark about Riptide. My sword was not dinky! "He's not just going to be flaunting his vulnerable parts at me," I argued, gripping the hilt of my extremely useful and powerful sword. "Enry will keep the armor towards me as much as he can."

"I didn't say it would be easy. I said do it," Eros replied pointedly. He tossed his quivers over both shoulders, standing up and holding out his hand, palm up. I stared at him, wondering what he was trying to do, when suddenly a small silver object popped into existence on his outstretched fingers. "Here, put this on," Eros ordered, holding it out to me.

I took the silver thing from him. "What is this?" I asked, inspecting it carefully. The object was shaped like a candy cane, made of bendy silver wire and adorned with a small engraved arrowhead at the end no bigger than the nail of my pinky finger.

"It's an earpiece," Eros informed me, waving his hands around in a 'duh' sort of motion. "Put it on."

Dubiously, I curved the candy cane part around the back of my right ear.

"The arrow needs to be flat against the front of your earlobe," Eros added disinterestedly, inspecting his nails. "Or you won't be able to hear me."

"You're gonna talk to me through an earpiece?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at the god.

"Nah, I just thought it would look fashionable," Eros shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yes, Water Boy, I'm going to talk to you through the earpiece. Coach you through your fight, make sure you don't kill yourself and all that jazz."

"I don't need you to do that," I informed him, frowning at his condescending tone. "I can take care of myself perfectly well."

"Well I don't know about you, but if the king of the gods was personally trying to make me lose this fight, I would accept all the help I can get," Eros sniffed. "I'm a good strategist."

"Oh, sure," I snorted in disbelief, staring at him dubiously. "You'd probably get me killed."

Suddenly , the air crackled with heat, and Eros was only steps away from me. "Watch what you say, Water Boy," Eros warned me, his voice dead serious. He seemed more godlike now than ever before, all traces of charming man and bored teenager personas vanished. "I've been around for way longer than you have. I know what I'm talking about when I say strategy. How do you think I know about Enry's strengths and weaknesses? I watch, I listen, I observe, I compile my facts." He paused, blue eyes glittering. "I know what Enry can do, I know what Zeus _will_ do, and I can keep your sorry ass alive."

I stared him down, unwilling to give in. "Why should I believe you?" I asked quietly. "You're the reason I'm here in the first place."

"Because if you die in one of these next battles and your little girlfriend hates you forever, my mom will be pissed beyond belief," Eros replied bluntly. "And that is not pretty at all." His nose scrunched up distastefully at the thought, and I shuddered in agreement. Angry Aphrodite sucked majorly.

We only stood there for a moment, staring calculatingly at each other. I didn't trust him, he didn't like me, but like it or not, we needed each other right now. He needed me to win, and I needed him to help me overcome Zeus' interventions.

Silently, my eyes still locked with Eros', I raised a hand to my head and bent the silver arrowhead against my earlobe.

"Good," was his only comment. "Get some sleep. Don't weigh yourself down at breakfast. I'll be in touch." Eros tapped his ear knowingly, then disappeared in a flash of silver light.

I sighed as I lay back down on my mat, wondering how much sleep I would really get before morning. Something told me that it wouldn't be enough.

Enry lunged at me, and I darted back, swinging Riptide at his furry bobcat head. It would've been far too lucky than my karma allowed for me to make contact though, so obviously I only nicked a couple hairs before Enry pulled back, and my opening was gone.

"Is that all you've got, young hero?" Enry asked quietly, his beady black eyes glinting at me as we circled each other.

"Is that what you think, Enry?" I replied, pretending to be surprised. "Let's see if you're right." And I tore in towards him, Riptide's tip seeking out his chest to aim straight for the heart.

Enry turned, lightning fast, and Riptide bounced harmlessly off the scales at his left side. I went past him, following the swing of my sword and trying to curve back around for a second hit.

"Watch out for the tail!" Eros screamed in my ear. I jerked backward at the sudden booming noise, and by pure dumb luck managed to evade the huge scorpion tail flying past my body. It was close enough for me to have felt the wind from Enry's movement brush my cheek. "You'll have to be more careful than that, Water Boy!" Eros snapped. "The poison in that tail touches you for a second, and you'll be paralyzed, bloated, and oozing all over the place in under a minute. Do you want me to send you back to your little camp as an oversized, slime dripping piñata?"

Great images, am I right?

"Sorry, sorry," I muttered under my breath. Eros didn't reply, and I wondered briefly if the earpiece even enabled him to hear my voice, or if it was solely one-way communications.

Keeping Eros' advice in mind, I watched the tail in my peripherals as I dove and twisted Riptide around Enry's half scaled, half furry body. Enry hissed as my blade tip caught in a crack between scales and carved a path along his plated abdomen. I rolled to the side to evade his swiping claws, leaping to my feet again and dodging his plunging tail.

Eros was right. Enry was very fast.

I had to finish this quickly.

"You're quick, young hero," Enry remarked, not sounding ruffled at all.

"Thanks," I replied automatically, my eyes darting everywhere, searching for an opening at his fur. "You too."

"I've had millennia of practice," Enry said simply. Then he shot at me like he had been blown from a cannon, and only pure instinct brought up Riptide's blade enough to save me from the silver claws that were crashing down towards my chest. The sound of metal on metal rang through the clearing, and out of the corner of my eye I could see Ka Rino scratching in annoyance at her sensitive feline ears.

Great. Another monster with metal claws. With my luck, they'd be just like Ka Rino's and leave lasting scars all over my body. I would look like I'd been through a paper shredder by the end of this stupid quest.

Enry and I fought for what seemed like hours. He didn't tire, didn't make mistakes, didn't let his guard drop. I, however, didn't have the advantage of being a monster with ridiculously long lasting stamina, and it seemed like Enry's claws and teeth were making contact more and more. Luckily, I managed to steer clear of the whipping tail behind him, so there was no green slime oozing from paralyzed, bloated limbs.

Yet.

"Could you be any dumber?" Eros snapped in my ear, waking me slightly out of my battle daze. "Aren't you like, invincible? Didn't you bathe in the Styx? Why aren't you using your Styxy powers? Why aren't you water bending or whatever?"

"This is not Spiderman or Avatar," I growled under my breath, jumping backwards to avoid another of Enry's swings. "I don't have Styxy powers or water bending."

"Whatever it is, do it quickly!" Eros retorted, sounding annoyed. "You're losing too much blood. He's nicked you too many times. Just get the damn battle over with, Water Boy."

"Easier said than done," I grunted, parrying away Enry's claws yet again. "I have to focus too much to use the water, and focus is not something I can spare right now, if you can't tell." As if proving my point, I realized a millisecond too late that my left guard had slipped. Enry realized it first, and in a second I had a new scratch tearing into my abdomen.

Damn. I only had one more extra shirt left in my backpack that wasn't ripped, shredded, or generally bloodstained.

"Then use the Styxy powers!" Eros insisted obstinately. His voice was beginning to irritate me.

"Would you shut up? I'm trying to win a battle here," I snapped, none too quietly.

"Are you talking to yourself, young hero?" Enry asked mildly, pulling his claws back and continuing to circle as he searched for a new opening. "Have you cracked under the strain of your quest?"

"You wish," I growled, lunging wildly forward in a sudden burst of energy. In some stroke of dumb luck, I actually managed to land a solid hit slicing across his furry collarbone. Enry howled in pain, darting backwards away from my blade as green blood began to well up across the wound. "Does it look like I've cracked?" I taunted, flicking some of the blood greasing my blade at the monster. "Actually, I think you've cracked instead."

It was true. My hit had managed to put a good sized dent in the plated scales on his chest, with small spider webs of fractures leaking out from the point of impact. Enry touched one clawed paw to the injury, grimacing as he evaluated the damage done. From the poisonous look in his eyes, it seemed like the boo boo hurt a lot.

"What was that you said before about my 'dinky little sword'?" I asked quietly under my breath, keeping my eyes locked on Enry. My success had given me a little burst of adrenaline, like a shot of espresso injected into my body.

"It was a lucky hit. His scales must be brittle from his horrible diet," Eros scoffed in my ear.

Before I could respond, Enry was attacking again.

Somehow, it seemed like the tide could be turning. I was landing more and more hits on Enry, who was slowing down gradually as his chest scales began to crack and fall to the ground. A soft, yellowish flesh was revealed as his armor broke, and I started trying to aim for the exposed bits as they opened up. Eros was silent through the earpiece, which I took to mean that he wasn't completely dissatisfied with my performance anymore. Either that or he didn't want to admit that he had been wrong about the sword not working on armor thing. That was a definite possibility.

Enry was trying to protect his now vulnerable chest area, and was leaving himself more open for attack as a result. I took advantage of this quickly, slicing at his knees and being rewarded as he fell to the ground, suddenly unable to take his own weight. I could tell that victory was close. I had actually did it. I beat Enry. I had beaten Enry!

And that's when his eyes started glowing gold, and I knew I was screwed.

Karma hates me. Or at least, the king of the gods seems to hate me, and that's equally as bad. Especially when your opponent's eyes start glowing and his wounds start healing over and he gets to his feet when you know for a fact he should be down for the count, waiting for the death blow.

Yeah. I was definitely screwed.

"Aw damn," Eros sighed in the earpiece. "Looks like Zeus has showed up. Goody. My favorite uncle."

"This isn't really the best time for sarcastic commentary," I muttered, watching carefully as Enry's armor started creeping back over the yellow flesh. All of my hard work, flying out the window. Zeus was reverting him back to his state of health at the beginning of the battle. I had to start over from square one, him perfectly fine while I dripped with blood over here.

And get this. Every time my sword made contact, every time I managed to draw some icky green monster blood, Zeus healed him. No wound, no blood, nada. Zip. Zilch. Enry was simply healed automatically, gold eyes flashing as he wiped away the blood to reveal the cuts and slashes instantly knitting back together.

Well that sucked. "Any advice, oh wise one?" I muttered, trying to slice at his chest plates to try and crack them again. Enry dodged with instant speed, retaliating with another claw swipe that I just barely managed to dodge. A few black hairs fell to the ground as his ridiculously sharp claws nicked them from my head. This was not good.

"Yes, actually, Water Boy," Eros retorted. "Do what you did with that octopusy leopard chick you fought before."

"Ka Rino?" I clarified, frowning dubiously at his description.

"Yeah, that one. Didn't you use her own weapons against her? It worked. Do it again."

"What are you suggesting? That I cut off Enry's paws?" I asked, darting backward as one of the said paws swiped in my direction. Enry was almost fully healed now, and meanwhile I was beginning to get dizzy from blood loss. To emphasize this fact, as I tried to back up away from Enry's claws, I actually toppled over and fell directly on my butt. Pain jarred through my spine, and Riptide clattered from my hand. To make things worse, I managed to land on something extremely hard and sharp. It punctured instantly through my jeans, creating another nice jagged hole in both my pants and leg. "Damn," I hissed, reaching to dig the offending object from my leg. "What the hell was that?" I pulled it out of the wound with a wince, and looked down at the pointy shard in my hand. It was a fragment of Enry's armor, one of the dozens that now littered the battleground.

"It's your weapon," Eros replied.

Before I could fully process that, Enry was back on me and I was scrambling for Riptide's hilt to defend myself. In a moment of pure desperation to delay Enry's claws from sinking into me, I pulled back and threw the jag of armor hard at his face.

Miraculously, I was on target. The shard pierced directly through one of the golden misted eyes, and Enry reeled back instantly, roaring with pain. Green blood poured from the wound, instantly flooding his left eye and concealing the gold. It dripped down his face in rivers, staining his fur and leaking off his chin to spatter the ground.

"Would you look at that," Eros commented dryly. "Was I right or was I right? That is a much better weapon than your dinky little sword. The scales actually leave lasting damage."

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" I snapped, annoyed by his superior tone. Eros was getting on my nerves big time with all of his stupid distracting commentary. I was kinda busy right now, if he didn't notice.

"With your Styxy senses," Eros replied loftily.

"For the last time, I am not Spiderman!" I yelled, finally fed up. Leaning down, I snatched up more scattered pieces of Enry's armor, throwing them rapid fire at him. Shards lodged in his face, furred parts, and even stuck in his plates of scales as easily as if they were butter. Green blood instantly welled up all over his body, and Enry staggered to a halt, falling once more to his knees. His tail lashed up behind him, and time seemed to slow down as I watched it come straight for my head.

I wasn't exactly sure how it happened, but the next thing I knew I was grasping Enry's tail in both hands, forcing it downwards until the tip plunged into his furry back. Enry stiffened suddenly, let out one last groan, and fell face first to the blood spattered ground.

"You should probably get rid of the carcass before it starts to bloat and ooze green slime," Eros advised airily.

"Charming," I muttered. I gingerly let go of the scorpion tail, careful not to touch any of the poison dripping on its point, and reached down to pick up another shard of Enry's scales. "Does this count as a trophy?" I asked no one in particular.

As if in answer, Enry's body vanished, leaving only one silver claw behind on the ground.

"Sweet," I murmured, leaning down to scoop it up. I staggered suddenly, and realized in surprise that my head was pounding with headache. Oh yeah, blood loss. I had forgotten about that little problem in the midst of my irritation with Eros.

Well, at least he was good for something.

"Excellent work, young hero," Frio said, coming up and supporting my arm in one massive paw. "I do have a question though…"

"Shoot," I gasped, grabbing my aching head as I tried not to fall down.

"Who's Spiderman?"

It was right about there when I finally passed out.

* * *

"There," Zeus said finally, sitting back on his throne. It had been harder than he thought, but now he was satisfied. Apparently it wasn't enough to personally control the monster and heal him constantly. He also had to make sure that Perseus exhausted himself on his own, without any direct hits. He was an excellent fighter, Zeus had to admit, but Zeus had millennia of experience of wearing heroes down, and he knew what he was doing.

But it was strange… he hadn't expected Perseus to do some of the things he had done. And he had been talking to himself the whole time, as if he was holding a conversation with someone during the battle. What was all that about? He couldn't have been receiving advice from Aphrodite since Zeus had forbidden her to do so, and none of the other gods were remotely interested in this quest of Perseus'. His father had already granted him passage to the island, but Poseidon wasn't much of a strategist when it came to battling monsters. And Athena wasn't particularly upset that Annabeth might stay indifferent to Percy forever if he failed, so obviously the best strategist of the gods wasn't helping him.

So who could it be?

Perseus would not be allowed to succeed on this quest, not if Zeus had anything to do with it.

Perhaps he could arrange for Percy's little fainting act to go on a little longer than necessary… it wasn't particularly difficult to keep someone asleep, after all.

Yes, that was an excellent idea.

"I'll just make sure Perseus gets a nice long rest after his tiring battle," Zeus said aloud, smiling to himself.

He didn't notice Aphrodite leaning around the corner of the throne room, avidly listening to his every word. The goddess' eyes widened, and she snapped her fingers quickly, disappearing in a shower of sparkling pink to warn her son.

There was no way that she was letting Zeus spoil her Percabeth fun.

**Hey, long time no write. To tell you the truth, it's because I only got two reviews last chapter and I was like 'I sat down and wrote a fight scene for two reviews? That chapter took me forever!' and I was kinda discouraged. So yeah. Just FYI.**

**So review please? (:**

**~TMI~**


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